Detroit Lions: As far as Matt Patricia is concerned, there is no ‘I’ in team

The Lions need as many talented players as possible

Now here we sit watching the offseason slowly unfolding wondering how Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia are going to turn the Lions around this offseason. Not many of us believe this team is one or two players away from contention. You could easily make the case that they need seven to nine new starters on defense alone.

That isn’t even including depth or help on the offensive line, at running back, receiver or a competent backup quarterback.

But the mystery of this offseason deepens when we consider the trade rumors of Slay and Stafford.

Slay is in the same position as Diggs was. He is a charismatic personality and a free thinker. Not a ‘Patriot Way’ yes man. It wouldn’t be the least bit surprising to see the Lions trade him, but it would also fly right into the face of the win-now mandate that the Ford family has given Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia.

Meanwhile, Matthew Stafford has been the consummate company man for the Lions. Even though he has had plenty of reasons to question the direction this franchise has gone while he has been here and rightfully could have made demands of ownership to make changes, he continues to quietly do his job, be a stand-up guy with the press and fans and do everything he can to help the team win every week.

The only reasons for the Lions to entertain trading him are concerns about his health or if they actually decided to rebuild. Yes, there could be the possibility that Matthew could finally have asked to be traded, but it seems farfetched given his inordinate loyalty to this franchise and quite frankly Bob Quinn has to understand the ramifications trading Matthew would have on the salary cap.

Yet in the end, the Lions have almost no shot of winning next year if they trade Stafford and Slay. For some, they are the face of this franchise. But as I already pointed out, the ‘Patriot Way’ doesn’t believe in faces. Just the team logo and results.

Even New England passer Tom Brady, who is about the only player that could actually have been considered the face of the Patriots, seems destined to finally be moving on.

Bob Quinn has been pretty good at acquiring solid players, but there have not been many game-breakers he has been able to bring to Detroit. Beyond Kenny Golladay, the list is beyond short. It’s empty.

There are some players like Tracy Walker, Da’Shawn Hand, Jahlani Tavai, Austin Bryant, Amani Oruwariye and Will Harris that Quinn drafted which have upside, but they have as yet to consistently attain it.

This means that despite Matt Patricia’s vision of one big faceless, nameless roster, they still need what few stars they have to win games. This means winning without Stafford and Slay would be very difficult.

Every coach has their own way of handling their team, but many coaches have won with characters and even rebels before. Look at the 1970s Oakland Raiders. That was an insane asylum, but they won because John Madden knew how to handle them.

Until Matt Patricia has built a dynasty in Detroit, he needs to get as many talented players as possible, whether they are company men or free spirits, and coach them to success. Otherwise, the characters on the roster will be the only ones left standing when Quinn and Patricia are given their pink slips.