Maybe Bob Quinn isn’t the reason the Lions pass on Tua Tagovailoa
By Robert Jones
It’s not about pitting Stafford against Tagovailoa
So with the belief that Matthew Stafford is completely healed after last seasons back injury, the Lions have given him their vote of confidence that he is the man. Even though at age 32 it’s not a bad idea to consider finding a talented young quarterback that can be groomed to eventually take over when Matthew is gone.
The part of the fan base that doesn’t want Tagovailoa, feels like Matthew is being disrespected every time someone talks about how talented Tagovailoa is, not to mention the intangible’s he possesses that could eventually make him one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL one day.
They say that Tagovailoa has had injuries. Let’s not forget that Matthew Stafford’s iron man streak was halted last year by an injury, and he’s had two straight years of back injuries overall. Plain and simple if the Lions put all their hopes in either the Stafford or Tagovailoa basket, there will be a risk.
So what is the right direction to go? The mandate to win definitely means hitching the Lions’ wagon to Matthew Stafford who is coming off an outstanding season. With the improvement of the cast around Matthew, especially the defense which was horrible last season, then a bounce-back year becomes possible.
Matthew was outstanding running offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell’s system. That was not the problem at all. The Lions led in every game Stafford played in, unfortunately, the defense squandered leads like crazy last season. Even in a few games after Matthew was injured.
Matthew wasn’t the issue. However, given the back injuries Matthew has suffered the last two seasons, having a quarterback for the future being groomed behind him isn’t an end of the world scenario either.
In Tua Tagovailoa’s case, despite the fact that he has been ahead of schedule with his own injury recovery, what’s best for him is to still sit on the bench and learn from an established veteran quarterback. Especially next season.
That’s not pitting Stafford against Tagovailoa, that’s having your franchise quarterback do his job to try to lead the team to the Super Bowl while a young talented signal-caller is preparing himself to eventually become a starter. This is a common story we’ve seen around the NFL.
The Green Bay Packers had Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers had to ride the bench until it was determined Rodgers was better. The same would have happened in New England with Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo if it were up to Bill Belichick.