Matthew Stafford has been thought of as the franchise player for the Detroit Lions, yet his job with the team seems to be in question more times than not. The young quarterback has only once produced mind blowing stats and has a history of injury that has kept him out of several games. As the Detroit Lions begin preparation for 2013, Stafford begins prepping for a make-or-break year with the team.
It is hard to tell what kind of quarterback Stafford is or will possibly be. He has missed 19 of his first 32 starts, but has followed that up with 33 straight starts. For a few seasons, he was underrated, recording 41 touchdowns, but then he followed that up with two lackluster years where wins and touchdown numbers dropped.
The quarterback declined severely in 2012. With only one big play threat in Calvin Johnson, Stafford failed to get points on the board. They only had short-yardage options and struggled with mistakes across the board. He only had a 59.8 completion percentage with just 20 touchdowns in 2012. Compared to 2011 where he threw 41 touchdown passes and recorded 5,038 yards, the decline is worrisome.
Stafford is entering into the final two years of his rookie contract. At this moment, Detroit is not interested in working out some record-setting extension like the trend has been this offseason. They would like their quarterback to earn the pay raise and play out another year. While Detroit could use the extra cap space that will come with an extension, they are not risking giving it up right now.
The Lions made a lot of additions for 2013 in order to help Stafford, including signing running back Reggie Bush. The back is expected to give the Lions a much need offensive explosion. Excited to be joining the team, Bush has all the confidence in the world in Stafford.
"Getting a chance to play with Calvin Johnson, arguably the best receiver in football right now, and Stafford, who's a good young quarterback, has a huge arm and has a lot of talent and tremendous upside. And he's a leader. He has all the qualities and intangibles to be a Hall of Famer one day and be a great quarterback in this league," Bush said.
While Bush is already reserving Stafford's spot as one of the best quarterbacks in the game, the Lions are not quick to buy a ticket. This is a crucial year for Stafford. If he fails to improve on the struggle that was 2012, his job will look a lot less certain.
