For a significant portion of the 2016 season, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was regarded as an MVP candidate due to efficient play and his knack for engineering fourth-quarter comebacks. As a result of his enhanced performance, the quarterback market, and his soon-to-be expiring contract, Stafford's due for a pay raise in the near future.

On Thursday, Lions general manager Bob Quinn confirmed that the team and Stafford are in the early stages of working on a new contract. Stafford's current contract is set to expire after the 2017 season.

"It's not done yet," Quinn said, via the Detroit Free Press. "We're in the very early stages of talking to Matthew and his representatives. Matthew's a quarterback that I want here and he's a quarterback that Coach (Jim) Caldwell wants here, so we're in the early stages. It takes two sides to do a deal and we're working towards that."

Since Jim Bob Cooter took over as the Lions offensive coordinator, Stafford's numbers have taken off. In 25 games under Cooter's guidance, Stafford's completed 66.6 percent of his passes, thrown 44 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, and posted a 97.5 passer rating. The most important part of that stat line, of course, is the lack of interceptions. Due to Cooter's emphasis on the quick passing game, Stafford's limited his mistakes.

He's accumulated a 1.5 percent interception rate under Cooter. In the pre-Cooter days, Stafford threw an interception on 2.8 percent of his passes.

Last season, Stafford led the Lions to eight comebacks, which broke Peyton Manning's single-season record. That's obviously a flawed statistic given Stafford himself was partially responsible for the deficits he eventually overcame, but it helped bring attention to Stafford's MVP case, which in turn helped bring attention to the fact that Cooter has helped Stafford tremendously. 

Assuming the Lions can keep Cooter around, there's really no reason to let Stafford, 29, walk away in free agency. So, expect a deal to get worked out, and when it is, expect Stafford to be paid like one of the game's best quarterbacks, even if he's a tier below the Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees class of the league.

On Thursday, Quinn disposed of the notion that they would let Stafford leave. 

"It's interesting when we're sitting down in draft meetings the last couple weeks and we go through every position no matter if we need one or not," Quinn said. "And you look across the country and there's really a lack of quarterbacks when you look at across the NFL and college football. So I think we're fortunate situation to have Matthew as a member of our team and we're hoping to make that a long-term thing."

Last summer, the Colts signed Andrew Luck to a six-year, $140 million deal that includes $25 million per season for the first three years and $80 million guaranteed. So, Stafford's about to become a whole lot richer in the near future.