I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot in my heart for Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. Just, on the surface, seems like a pretty reliable guy who’s played for a franchise that seems to be snake-bit. He’s constantly underrated in the grand scheme of NFL quarterbacks, very rarely entering the conversation of the league’s elite.
Yet, all he’s done is quietly string together one of the best careers of all the current NFL quarterbacks. Hell, I even thought Stafford deserved some consideration for the NFL MVP award in 2016, but the Lions’ inability to win obviously hindered that. Even as recent as the 2018 preseason, I still had him as the 8th best quarterback in the league.
And, dare I say, folks – he’s starting to creep into Hall of Fame numbers. Statistically speaking, there are only eight quarterbacks who are currently in the Hall of Fame that have more passing yards than he does; 11 have more touchdown passes. He’s 18 touchdown passes away from cracking the all-time top 20 in touchdown passes. He’s 1,714 passing yards away from cracking the top 20 in that category.
Ultimately, I don’t think the Lions won enough games for him to get in. But, a few more seasons producing like this, and he very well could start to gain some Hall of Fame traction the way Philip Rivers did and has in recent years.
So, if you’re Adam Gase and the Miami Dolphins, and you want to shoot for the damn stars, what’s the worst that could happen by kicking the tires on Stafford?
Courtesy of Armando Salguero and the Miami Herald:
Turns out the Miami Dolphins tried to move on from quarterback Ryan Tannehill a year earlier than anyone thought.
The team mounted an effort, led by former coach Adam Gase, to trade for a quarterback to replace Tannehill before the 2018 season, according to multiple league sources.
And the target of Gase’s attempt to upgrade the Dolphins at quarterback was Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, sources also say.
Gase, in fact, reached out personally to Lions coach Matt Patricia to try to pry Stafford from the Lions.
Gase and Patricia are friends and the Lions coach was new to the Lions at the time and considering all options on how to improve his team.
Although it’s not believed the talks reached a point where the Dolphins were asked what they were willing to give for Stafford, it is believed Gase would have offered at minimum Miami’s 2018 first-round pick and probably more.
I’m not surprised at the idea of inquiring about Stafford. What’s surprising to me is that it’s March, and we’re just now hearing about this. Given the current state of social media and all that, how did we not know about this as it was happening?
And, why aren’t we talking about it like it’s a huge deal? Is it because it’s been so long that people are just like, “meh – that’s cool I guess?” Am I the only one whose mind is completely blown thinking this was even a remote possibility? How much better would the Dolphins have been with Stafford at the helm? They’re a playoff team, right?
Did Gase coach the 2018 season with gritted teeth the entire time? Everyone thought Gase was stupidly committed to Ryan Tannehill by preference. Nah, he just couldn’t get Stafford, and they passed on this rookie class. Now, look where they are – they aren’t in a position to grab one of the top two quarterbacks in the draft this season, so it’s Ryan Fitzpatrick or bust right now.
Just think about how different things would’ve been if Stafford had been traded – the Dolphins are a lot better off at quarterback, maybe Gase is still around, and they’re likely competing for an AFC East crown. That’s crazy.
Also, how many of these trade inquiries like this happen in the NFL that we never hear about?
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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