Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia dismissed speculation that the team could be looking for a new quarterback next season.
Reports out of Detroit suggested that the Lions could be in the market for a quarterback in the 2019 NFL Draft and were ready to move on from Matthew Stafford.
Not true, Patricia told reporters Friday morning.
“Matthew Stafford is an unbelievable quarterback, and our quarterback,” said Patricia, who is 5-10 in his first season as a head coach. “I think the world of the guy.”
Stafford is having his worst statistical season since 2010, when injuries limited him to three games in his second year with the Lions.
Barring a 489-yard game in Sunday’s regular-season finale at Green Bay, Stafford will have a streak of seven consecutive 4,000-yard seasons come to an end.
The No. 1 overall pick of Detroit in the 2009 NFL Draft, Stafford has thrown for 3,511 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He has only three scoring passes over the past six games and needs one more to reach 20 TDs for the eighth season in a row.
Stafford has played the second half of the season without two of his top receiving targets. Marvin Jones II went on injured reserve and Golden Tate was sent to Philadelphia at the trade deadline. In addition, rookie running back Kerryon Johnson sustained a season-ending knee injury.
Detroit’s offense has sputtered down the stretch, failing to produce more than 17 points in each of the past five games. Stafford has not passed for 250 yards in the last six contests.
Stafford has started every game for the Lions since the start of the 2011 season, when he established career highs with 5,038 yards and 41 touchdown passes.
Detroit signed Stafford to a five-year contract prior to the 2017 season that was worth a reported $135 million, which made him the league’s highest-paid player at the time.
In last week’s 27-9 home loss, Patricia pulled Stafford in the fourth quarter of a 27-9 home loss to Minnesota, a move that drew applause from some of the partisan fans.
Still, despite the struggles this season, Stafford said he wants to remain with the only franchise he has known.
“I think there’s something special about a guy getting a chance to play his entire career in one place,” Stafford said after Thursday’s practice. “Not many guys get to do that these days. Would love to be one of those guys. It’s not (up to me), but like I just said, I would love to be one of those guys who played in the same place his whole career.”
