There has been zero conversation of the Detroit Lions talking to other teams about trading Matthew Stafford, head coach Matt Patricia confirmed Thursday. Patricia, speaking on NFL Network's Good Morning Football, had a laugh regarding the trade rumors surrounding the Lions franchise quarterback.
"It's comical, kind of, to me, to be honest with you. Not interested in doing any of that. There's no conversation of that whatsoever," Patricia said, via NFL.com. "In fact, I was away, I was actually at my college -- yeah, the Mighty Engineers (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) -- and I was back there when that news broke and I'm looking at my phone, I'm like 'What is going on?' and 'Who is this guy?' and 'Who put this out there?'
"It was really confusing so just one of those things that, for me, I kind of laugh at 'cause it's not even a conversation."
A report from WDIV-TV's Bernie Smilovitz indicated that the Lions were looking to move Stafford, and trade talks concerning Detroit's signal caller had been underway "for a couple weeks." Lions general manager Bob Quinn immediately denied the rumor, calling it "100 percent false."
Stafford has his consecutive starts streak end at 136 games last year, but was having one of the best seasons of his career prior to the back and hip injuries that sidelined him for the rest of the 2019 season. In just eight games, Stafford completed 64.3% of his passes for 2,499 yards, 19 touchdowns to just five interceptions for a 106.0 passer rating.
The Lions are coming off a 3-12-1 season, their worst record since a 2-14 campaign in 2009. Keep in mind Detroit was 3-4-1 with Stafford as the quarterback, not winning a game he didn't play in 2019.
For the Lions to be competitive, they need Stafford on the roster. Both Patricia and Quinn are fully aware.
