THE STAFFORD CONUNDRUM
Stafford is completely untradeable now. Probably at least ten teams would sign Stafford on the open market, but they would never trade for him knowing that he has a back injury.
But, to be honest, the Detroit Lions have no intention of cutting ties with Stafford. But two things need to be considered going forward.
If the injury was enough to break Stafford’s iron man streak, then would he consider retirement? Matthew has made good money over his 11-year career. Why take the risk of a more permanent injury?
Back injuries can be tricky and lingering. Stafford could easily walk away without risking further damage. And Matthew has life-changing money that should support a few generations of his family.
The other thing to be considered is the Detroit Lions’ responsibility in all of this. If you want Stafford to keep playing for you, what is the point of starting him this year with no hope of being a playoff team? It is time to shut Stafford down.
That brings us to quarterback Jeff Driskel. A player so highly thought of by the Cincinnati Bengals that they were trying to convert him to wide receiver this past offseason (before ultimately releasing him).
General manager Bob Quinn picked a beauty here to be the back-up quarterback. And, to be fair, Driskel did have a 6-yard reception (from himself) on Sunday. So, playing wide receiver is still a possibility, if he can’t play quarterback – and the results are in: he can’t.
By the way, more than a few people have put out the idea that Driskel played well on Sunday. Are these people’s televisions working? Do 4K televisions have such a perfect image that it has made any football on the screen seem perfect as well?
Is alcohol playing a role in that assessment? And, yes, as a Lions fan, I could understand why alcohol would play a role. But you would have to be on the verge of passing out to think Driskel played well.
Driskel is awful. He should barely be the third-string quarterback. But, to be honest, he is the perfect guy to lead this team for the rest of the season. And every Lions fan should be rooting for him to play like he did this past Sunday – as long as his play results in never winning another game.