ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Matthew Stafford stood on the sideline in the second half Sunday afternoon, doing something he had never done before.
He watched -- and not because he was the backup, he was injured or the game was completely out of hand. No, Matthew Stafford, the Detroit Lions' franchise quarterback, had been benched.
Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said Stafford is still the team’s starter and his teammates expressed support. But the benching -- and the team’s 0-5 start -- have also done this: The next 11 games should offer the Lions some clarity on whether Stafford is the quarterback of the future.
For the first time, Stafford’s tenure with the Lions may be running short. The 27-year-old’s guaranteed money is up after this season, which means moving on from Stafford before 2016 or 2017 would be a little bit easier to digest financially.
The Lions would eat $11 million in dead money prior to the 2016 season or $5.5 million in dead money before 2017, but the end of Stafford’s guaranteed money opens up some options. It’s why the rest of this season, as much as it will be about the futures of general manager Martin Mayhew and Caldwell, will be about Stafford, too.
If the Lions feel Stafford is no longer their guy, and they see another player who they believe can be their guy, they could begin the process of moving away from Stafford.
“They could have the perfect opportunity to get out because there’s eight teams that I could easily name off the top of my head that would take Stafford in a heartbeat,” said ESPN analyst Matt Williamson, a former college and NFL scout for Cleveland. “It’s not the problem Houston is having, for example (trying to decide whether Brian Hoyer or Ryan Mallett is the starter). They have a talented guy who can win in this league.
“But they’re so bad they could do a Manning-Luck situation where we can get out from a contract and move on to another guy and we bring in the next great thing, whether it’s Jared Goff or whoever that next guy is, it could be the opportunity to do it. If he keeps up mediocre play, I would consider using the top pick overall or a top-five pick on a quarterback.”
How the Lions would do this is not clear. They could try to trade Stafford after the season in an effort to stockpile draft picks. Or they could release him, potentially freeing up $22 million in cap room (minus the dead money mentioned above).
Stafford said Wednesday he's not thinking about what being benched Sunday means for his long-term future in Detroit.
“I can’t worry about the long term. I can just worry about the immediate future and trying to play as good as I possibly can on Sunday,” Stafford said. “Like I said, winning takes care of a lot of things. We haven’t done it this year and that’s been the biggest issue.
“I can obviously play better and that’s what I’m focused on right now is just trying to play as good as I possibly can on Sunday.”
And really, the only way the Lions will do this is if they continue their losing ways. That could mean changes throughout the organization, and if Detroit brings in a new general manager and/or coach, those people might want their own quarterback to work with instead of the guy who would have been inherited.
This discussion isn’t just based on one season, but on Stafford’s inconsistent play throughout his career. He’s won a lot of games and made the playoffs twice, but he also has the No. 33 passer rating in the league right now (74.8) and the No. 28 QBR (47.0). In his entire career, he’s been in the top 10 in QBR and passer rating at the end of a season just once, in 2011.
This year he leads the league in interceptions, with eight. And while his completion percentage of 64.6 is the highest of his career, it’s also just 17th in the league.
But Stafford has led game-winning drives in the fourth quarters of games. He’s been a strong decision-maker then. He’s thrown for 22,919 yards -- already No. 82 all-time -- with 137 touchdowns and 93 interceptions. He’s also at an age when there is room for growth even though he’s in his seventh year in the league. And the college landscape, quarterback-wise, is not a place where ready-made NFL quarterbacks are plentiful.
So, is Stafford's current season a blip on the radar or a sign of things to come, that he’s just not improving? That’s the question the Lions need to answer.
“There’s still time,” Caldwell said. “I’m not closing the door on him. At this particular time, there’s not anybody that’s playing as well as we think they’re capable of, save for a few guys here and there obviously.
“He’s still a relatively young quarterback in this league. So he’s still got time.”
How much time is the question, and why the next 11 games can really direct his future in Detroit. But if the Lions do eventually decide to go away from Stafford, there will be a lot of pressure to make sure it’s the right move. Parting ways and then watching Stafford realize his potential elsewhere would be hard to swallow for all involved with the Lions.
“I do know that be careful what you wish for,” Williamson said. “The next guy could be way worse. Way worse.”