The Detroit Lions have yet to find their first win of the season and now the team could be left with some hard decisions to make. Most teams in the situation of the Lions have to decide if it is simply time to start cleaning house and rebuild or keep the faith in the current players on the roster. Detroit has remained tight lipped out the future of the franchise, but the Sunday benching of Matthew Stafford might point a few signs to where things are headed.
Stafford was benched following an interception in the team's first drive of the second half against the Arizona Cardinals. Head coach Jim Caldwell told the quarterback at halftime that another interception would lead to his benching and he held true to his word as Dan Orlovsky finished the game and recorded the loss. Stafford admits he was shocked to be pulled from the game after going 20 of 32 for 188 yards and three interceptions. Jim Caldwell said after the game that Stafford will remain the starter despite getting benched.
"I was a little caught off-guard, to be honest," Stafford said, via the Detroit Free Press. "I went out there and tried to play aggressive. We're down 21 points. Try and get us back in the ball game. Tried to make a big play to Calvin Johnson, and obviously Patrick Peterson made a good play, intercepted the football ... and I got to watch the rest of the night. Not something I'm accustomed to being around."
Is this a sign for the future? Stafford has not exactly looked impressive over the past two seasons as the quarterback is shouldering a lot of the blame for the struggles in Detroit. According to DetroitNews.com, parting ways with the quarterback could be the best option for the Lions. There is no hard evidence that this is going to happen, but if the team fails to do much of anything this season, depleting the roster and starting over is the best move to be made. That starts with Stafford. Trading the quarterback would cost $11 million in dead cap space in 2016 and another $5.5 million in 2017. A trade before June 1 could allow the team to spread the money out and take less of a hit.
Of course Calvin Johnson's name will also come up in trade talks. According to Jason Fitzgerald of SportingNews.com, dealing away the receiver is not the worst idea. Johnson has not looked like Megatron this season as he reaches the wrong end of the NFL age scale. Johnson would certainly get the Lions something in a trade which would help in the rebuilding process. Fitzgerald suggests finding a trade in-season over the next two weeks which would make a team responsible for at least $7.8 million of his contract this season. If the Lions Kept Johnson through the year they could be responsible for $16.5 million as the receiver's trade value weakens. Giving Johnson away now is admitting total failure on the year, something Detroit might not be willing to jump at.
The Lions have good pieces for the future. Golden Tate and Ameer Abdullah can certainly be weapons for the season in a rebuilding time for the franchise. The Lions face the Chicago Bears in Week 6. Another loss to the team could be when trades start to become a real possibility for the franchise as everyone will be on the chopping block.
