Matthew Stafford Leaving Detroit Lions

Tom Pelissero of NFL.com says the Detroit Lions and Matthew Stafford have mutually agreed to part ways this offseason. The sides have had open and healthy discussions since the season ended. 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. 

Reported by Fox17, the team says they will begin exploring trade options in the coming weeks for the former No. 1 overall pick.

Pro Football Talk said Stafford has spent his entire 12-year career in Detroit, earning a Pro Bowl invite in 2014 and setting franchise records with 45,109 passing yards and 282 touchdown passes while playing through numerous injuries under four different head coaches (Jim Schwartz, Jim Caldwell, Matt Patricia and Interim coach Darell Bevell).

Stafford has two years remaining on his current contract, and he’s due $20 million in 2021 and $23 million in 2022. If he’s not on the team he’ll have a $19 million hit on the Lions’ salary cap for 2021.

The Lions made the playoffs three times with Stafford at the helm, but still have yet to win a playoff game since 1991.

Now, Stafford will hopefully find a team to win for and the Lions will continue to rebuild, again!