NFL: The Lions must trade Stafford
The Lions have five trade options for Matthew Stafford in my opinion, and three of them involve teams in the AFC South. All three teams, the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Indianapolis Colts, are searching for quarterbacks to compete with Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans and I think they’re willing to give up a good amount to get a high level QB. The best option and fit are the Titans.
Tennessee just made a run to the AFC title game and believe they are one major move away from being Super Bowl contenders. In order to land Stafford from the Lions, the Titans would likely have to part ways with guys like Malcolm Butler ($12 million per year), Adam Humphries ($9 million per year), and Ben Jones ($6 million per year). Stafford is owed $27 million per year until 2023.
Tennessee would get a top-15 QB in the league, while the Lions would get a good defensive back and a solid receiver to add to an already good receiving group. The Jaguars could also make a run at Stafford after slipping up on Nick Foles last offseason. Jacksonville would have to give up Foles ($22 million per year) but I think they’re okay with that and Detroit wouldn’t mind adding quarterback depth anyways.
The final team in the division that could (and should) trade for Stafford is Indianapolis. The Colts would have to trade Jacoby Brissett ($15 million per year), Jack Dolye ($7 million per year), and maybe someone like Mark Glowinski. Detroit would probably have to throw in Isaac Natua or another expendable player to make this work. The other two teams that should inquire about Stafford are the Los Angeles Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers.
LA has the talent to compete for a playoff spot while the Steelers were a quarterback away from winning double digit games last year. If the Chargers were to do it, though, they would have to give up a lot of talent like Casey Heyward ($10 million per year), Mike Williams ($6 million per year), Brandon Mebane ($6 million per year), and maybe Virgil Green and/or Forrest Lamp. This is probably the best deal for the Lions but it’d also be the toughest to pull off.
The final offer from Pittsburgh is highly unlikely because it’d mean the Steelers would have to trade Ben Roethlisberger ($34 million per year through 2022) to make the money work. The final piece of the puzzle is, obviously, for the Lions to draft Tua Tagovailoa with the third pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. If Detroit could part ways with Stafford and land Tagovailoa, they could buy themselves three more years to rebuild while also improving immediately.
Photo Credit: WKFR.
