Report: Stafford's Future With Lions 'In Doubt' With New Regime Coming
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
Via an end-all, be-all statement, owner Martha Ford laid the hammer on the Lions' organization Thursday. She took no questions from the dozens of reporters gathered at Allen Park, instead reading through a statement that announced the firing of general manager Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand and promised fans the organization would hire the "best leadership" available.
But with zero people from the organization answering to the media on Thursday, a plethora of questions remains. Will Ford make hiring decisions by herself? Will she enlist the help of the league office? How long of a rebuilding process awaits the Lions?
And perhaps chief among the lingering questions is what happens to the Lions' franchise quarterback, in Matthew Stafford. Mayhew had previously thrown his full weight behind supporting Stafford, saying it was "comical" that the Lions would think about trading him, and that if the team had 22 Staffords, they would "win a championship ever year."
Now, Mayhew – who drafted Stafford – is gone.
And according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Stafford's status with the franchise is in jeopardy.
Stafford was drafted No. 1 overall in 2009, the beneficiary of a hefty paycheck and a chance to be The Man in Detroit, yet also the victim of never-ending high expectations. He passed for a cartoonish 5,038 yards in 2011 and led Detroit to a playoff game last year. But the franchise still hasn't won in the postseason since 1957.
Many fans see Stafford as a huge part of the problem – a quarterback with arm talent, but limited ability to win the big game.
If the Lions traded Stafford at the end of the season, and truly started from scratch in the rebuilding process, they could probably still get something significant in return.
If they keep him, one of two things will happen. Stafford will either turn his career around and lead the Lions to the promised land, or he'll stay at his status quo and largely be considered a failure. There is very little middle ground for Stafford to walk upon at this point.
Whether he'll toe that line in Detroit or somewhere else remains to be seen.
