Matthew Stafford: Detroit Lions Should Bench Franchise Quarterback

Yes, you read that right: The Lions should bench Matthew Stafford.

Why should the franchise quarterback not play on Sunday? In Yogi Berra speak, because he’s the franchise quarterback. Confused? Allow me to explain.

After Stafford limped off Ford Field many wondered the severity of the injury. Was it just a sprained ankle? Is it the knee? Head coach Jim Schwartz discussed the results in vague Bellichickian tongue.

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I don't like to go there because I'd never want to discuss those kinds of things. But if there was [something on the MRI], he would be more than day-to-day. If he had a broken bone, he would be more than day-to-day. 

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OK, so if he had a broken bone, he may not play? Not really giving us a lot there, Coach, but why should he?

What advantage is it to him and his team to let a group of writers know exactly what’s going on with his quarterback? Why not just FedEx a copy of the MRI results to John Fox so his team can prepare appropriately for this weekend’s contest?

None of us will know for sure what is wrong, but what I do know is that he’s not right. Stafford has not looked comfortable in the pocket the last two weeks and I can’t blame him.

He’s been sacked eight times with countless hurries and knockdowns in the last two games. His internal clock has to be moving faster than Kim Kardashian’s divorce attorneys.

The timing is perfect for Stafford to rest whatever the injury truly is. The Lions head west to Denver this weekend to face Tim Tebow, a second-year quarterback whose two best attributes are his love of God and his legs. Hell, if Helen Hunt were a few years younger, she could reprise her role as Tami Maida in Quarterback Princess for Coach Fox. I guess now it would be Queen, but you get my point. The Broncos are beatable without Magic Matt No. 9.

Guess how many NFL teams started the same quarterback for all 16 games last season? Only 12—just over a third of the teams, so what is the rush? The Lions have a bye week after Denver. If Stafford is not 100 percent, he should sit and rest for two full weeks and be ready to go on Nov. 13 in Chicago.

Stafford’s a gamer and team leader. We all remember watching and listening to his left shoulder pop out of the socket against the Browns in his rookie season. He gave the training staff the metaphorical bird and got back under center to complete his best statistical game of his career along with endearing himself to the fans of Detroit with a gut-check performance. He will not take himself out of a game, let alone a play.

“If I’m healthy enough to play, I’m going to try to be out there,” he said. “It’s yet to be seen if I can get to that point. But if I can, then I want to play.” 

He’s never going to hand over the keys and it will be up to the coaching staff to position Stafford and this team for success after the bye, not simply this week. What would you rather have a 6-2 team with Stafford on crutches or 5-3 and Stafford completely healthy?

I’ve seen this movie before. Remember last year when Stafford came back too early from injury to play Week 9 against the New York Jets? A remarkable home victory went down in flames as Stafford fell to the ground, re-injuring his shoulder that was never fully healed, and he was out for the remainder of the season.

He’s played just 20 games in his three-year NFL career. That’s an average paycheck of $2 million per game, or roughly $54,000 per attempt, and that’s just the guaranteed $40 million, not a penny of the roughly $38 million remaining on the contract! The Lions have got to get the average cost down on Stafford and losing him again won’t help.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy and wanted him for this team before I even knew his name. During his junior year at Georgia, I was flipping channels and caught a couple of his throws on an ESPN night game and thought, “Wow, this guy’s got a rocket arm.” I’ve been on the bandwagon since it was a Radio Flyer.

With a viable, winning quarterback available in Shaun Hill, the Lions should take every precaution with their franchise quarterback and if he’s not 100 percent, let him grab the clipboard, turn the ball cap around and watch from the sidelines; there’s many more games to go this season, I want to see Stafford in all of them after the bye.