After 12 years, the Matthew Stafford era in Detroit appears to be over.
NFL Network’s Tom Peliserro is reporting that the Lions and Stafford have mutually agreed to part ways this offseason.
“After meetings in recent weeks in which Stafford expressed a desire for a fresh start,” Peliserro reported, “the Lions understood his position and plan to begin discussing trade options in the coming weeks for their star quarterback, per sources.
“The sides have had open and healthy discussions since the season ended,” Peliserro continued. “But with the Lions starting over again, hiring Dan Campbell as head coach and Brad Holmes as general manager, Stafford told the team he feels it’s the right time to move on and team officials agreed, per sources.”
Sources: The #Lions and Matthew Stafford have mutually agreed to part ways this offseason and the team will begin exploring trade options in the coming weeks for their star QB.https://t.co/zT00sOGb8Q
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 23, 2021
If the Lions find a trade partner, they will take a $19 million dead-money hit against the salary cap, but it would free up $14 million in cap space.
The Lions hold the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, and a quarterback is surely going to be in play. Depending on what the Lions get in a trade, it’s fair to speculate whether the team will use the new draft capital to move up and grab a quarterback they desire or stay put and use the extra resources to build around a new QB.
