The Detroit Lions first ride on the quarterback carousel in years
By Robert Jones
The Detroit Lions are trading Matthew Stafford and for the first time in 12 years, there is uncertainty surrounding the quarterback position. An uncertainty that Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell will be charged with untangling in the near future.
This past week we all heard Matthew’s final thoughts on leaving the Detroit Lions. Despite his desire to play for a contender, it wasn’t an easy decision to leave the Motor City.
Yet in the end, he did what would have to be considered in the best interest of both the Lions and himself. Matthew has a legitimate opportunity to lead the Los Angeles Rams on a playoff run next season. Meanwhile, Detroit needs a complete rebuild, so Matthew leaving makes it that much easier for Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell to make all the changes necessary to build a winner.
The defense was abysmal and needs a complete upgrade. On offense the necessary addition of receivers and discovering who the Lions quarterback will be are paramount.
Sure the Lions didn’t win nearly enough during Matthew’s tenure in Detroit, but only so much blame can be put on him. Did Matthew make mistakes? Yes, but when you consider the absence of a ground game or any kind of consistently good defense, that makes the margin of error so slim it would have been almost impossible for Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers to win here.
Now the whole world will have a chance to see just exactly what Matthew is capable of when playing for a contender. The odds of the Rams reaching the Super Bowl next season are suddenly quite good. Meanwhile, the Lions are tied for the worst odds to have any Super Bowl glory next year.
Next month when the NFL’s new year hits, the trade will become official and Matthew will get ready to show his abilities in Tinsletown. Yet here in Detroit the process will start to find out who will be the Lions’ new long-term answer at quarterback.