Matthew Stafford spent 12 years with the Detroit Lions as the face of the franchise since being the first overall pick in 2009. He’s not only had an impact on the organization with some impressive numbers on the field, but he’s also left his mark on the locker room and in the community.
Since the Lions agreed to trade him to the Rams, players have come forward and shared their appreciation for Stafford, praising him for the job he did in Detroit. T.J. Hockenson is the latest to do so, saying everyone in Detroit is rooting for Stafford to win a ring.
“There’s not a guy in our locker room that’s not rooting for that guy to get a ring. I mean, all of us loved him,” he said on the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast.
Stafford’s willingness to lay it all on the line has been lauded time and time again, showing remarkable toughness throughout his career in Detroit. The Rams will get a chance to see that next season and likely in future years as their quarterback, which will make it easy for everyone to root for him.
But beyond his toughness, Stafford is a really good quarterback. His 74-90-1 career record doesn’t necessarily reflect that, but he’s played on some bad teams and still put up big numbers in spite of that fact.
Hockenson only spent two seasons with Stafford, but he quickly learned how dedicated the veteran quarterback is
“He’s one of those guys, again, for the boys, for all of us, he was like, ‘Y’all do all this during the week. Y’all do everything I ask of you, and I’m going to go out there and do everything I can for you guys,’” Hockenson said. “Everybody on our team respected that guy. Like everybody loved him. He will forever put a stamp on my career and in the city of Detroit. He’s, I mean, he was, like I said, one of the best — the best player I’ve ever.”
Hockenson called Stafford “probably the best dude, the best player” he’s ever been around and told a story of how the QB threw a no-look pass to him in practice one time, which caught him off-guard.
It’s not something Stafford does often, but it is a little wrinkle Rams receivers should be ready for.
“He no-looked passed me, and I’m like, I double caught it. I got my feet down and everything. I looked at him and I was like, ‘Dude, did you just no-look me?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, I saw it caught you off guard.’ I was like, ‘Yup. It did.’ He would do anything for his dudes, too,” the tight end said.
He’s even pulled it off in games, like in the clip below.
Stafford's no-look game is crazy 🤧 @Lions
(h/t @PFF_Sam) pic.twitter.com/pSuW0lfi71
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) December 22, 2020
The Rams are getting a good one by all accounts from those in Detroit. And considering they’re giving up two first-round picks, a third-rounder and paying $22.2 million in dead money from Jared Goff’s contract, it should tell you everything you need to know about how the team feels about Stafford.
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