It seems likely that Matthew Stafford would be in line for a nice pay day soon. With many quarterbacks receiving lofty extensions in the offseason, Stafford is one of the players next in line to get his new deal with the Detroit Lions. However, negotiations have stalled out with the team making an ew deal unlikely before the start of the season. Stafford is not concerned with playing for a new contract; he is only concerned with playing for a winning season.
2012 was a year of regression for Stafford. The Lions limped their way to a 4-12 season after winning 10 games in 2011. Stafford threw 41 touchdowns with a 97.2 rating in that 10-win season, but dropped to 20 touchdowns and a 79.8 rating in 2012. No one can expect Stafford to produce a 2011 year in and year out, but the major drop in stats has a lot of negativity being thrown at the quarterback.
"It's impossible not to hear it just because I watch SportsCenter like everybody else and I'm person, too, but it's not the main fuel. The main fuel for me is I want to keep progressing in the right direction, I want to be a great quarterback and I want to be able to help this team win, and the only way I'm going to be able to do that is if I let nothing get in my way and just concentrate on what I'm supposed to concentrate on and get better at what I need to get better at," Stafford said.
Stafford's attitude and willingness to work for wins is what has Detroit looking to invest a lot of money in the player that was a No. 1 overall draft pick for the team. Lions president Tom Lewand has nothing but praise for the quarterback despite the slower season.
"I don't think we have a guy on our roster who's worked harder than he has, and I'm not sure that you'll find a guy who cares more than he does about this team and about winning, and about his teammates," Lewand said.
Detroit plans on rewarding Stafford, but by the looks of things, the earliest that reward will come is next offseason. Stafford currently has two more years remaining on his rookie contract. Detroit would ideally like to get an extension in place to avoid prolonged negotiations and the risk of Stafford testing the free agency market, but as talks move slowly, they will likely be shelved for the remainder of 2013.