Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions have agreed to part ways this off-season, something that could (should) be of major interest to the 49ers as they look for possible upgrades from Jimmy Garoppolo. A union between Stafford and San Francisco could end in favor of both parties.
Think about where Stafford’s career is. He is 32 years old, a 12-year veteran, has a record under .500 as a starter and is 0-3 in the postseason. All of this comes despite the fact that he is already number 16 of all time in passing yards. Stafford is a better player than his record and the lack of success after the season would indicate it. While he’s looking to turn the page of his career while he’s still having his best years, a team like the 49ers could help him shake off some of the monkeys that have taken up residence on his back.
A healthy version of the San Francisco 49ers would be the best squad Stafford has ever played on, and head coach Kyle Shanahan would be the best offensive coach he’s ever had.
The impact Shanahan has had on some of the other quarterbacks points to a lot of potential for Stafford within the 49ers’ offense.
It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison as the assault weapons are different, but it’s worth noting what Matt Ryan’s numbers looked like before Shanahan arrived in Atlanta and how they compare to Stafford’s over 12 seasons. Since Stafford played 55 more games than Ryan before Shanahan, we mainly stick to averages.
During his first seven seasons, Ryan completed 64 percent of his throws for 256.1 yards per game, 7.2 yards per attempt, a touchdown speed of 4.5 percent and an interception rate of 2.4 percent. He maintained a score of 91.1 during that period.
Stafford’s first 12 years are remarkably similar. He completes 62.6 percent of his passes for 273.4 yards per game and 7.2 yards per attempt. Its landing rate is 4.5 percent and its interception rate is 2.3 percent. Stafford’s passer rating is 89.9 after 12 years.
Both players also had a difficult time in postseason-situations. Stafford is 0-3 in his first three tries. Ryan was only 1-4 before Shanahan arrived and helped the Falcons through the Super Bowl.
Ryan’s first season under Shanahan in 2015 was relatively similar to his first seven years, but his second season in that offense was his MVP year in which he blew up for 4,994 yards, a 7.1 TD rate, 1.3 INT rate and 9.3 yards per attempt. It is not beyond the scope of the possibilities that a player like Stafford is so talented, sees a similar increase in production, especially since he already has a 5,000 yard season to his credit and a few more than 30 TD seasons. .
One reason for a pause could be when looking at Stafford’s career .448 win rate. Typically great quarterbacks don’t lose more than half their games, but it’s worth pointing out just how terrible the lions were at the time.
Since Stafford’s draft in 2009, the Lions have had a defensive finish in the top half of the competition by scoring three times – the same number of times they had a defensive finish in the top half in yards.
Their attacking rosters weren’t great either. While Stafford took advantage of some good pass-catching weapons, there was no run game in Detroit. Since 2009, they’ve had a player rushed 1,000 meters in a season. That was in 2013 when 28-year-old Reggie Bush posted 1,006 rushing yards.
The 49ers have a bump to get over themselves. They’ve been without a Super Bowl victory since the 1994 season, and their last trip in Super Bowl LIV came up short in part due to the quarterback game. Garoppolo wasn’t the reason they lost, but it’s hard to imagine what the 49ers offense would look like with a quarterback stretching the field more effectively. Stafford would do that while offering a little financial relief in a year when the salary ceiling could become a problem for a talented San Francisco club that has to pay a number of players.
The 49ers would hire a quarterback who would be an upgrade from Garoppolo on paper. Not to mention, Stafford’s durability has been better throughout its 12 seasons. The only time he missed outside of his first two seasons was when he broke bones in his back and missed eight games in 2019.
Maybe Shanahan doesn’t consider Stafford an upgrade from Garoppolo. If the 49ers think there will be a better, healthier version of Garoppolo, or if the design capital needed to acquire Stafford gets too high, they might stick with him. However, given what we’ve seen from people like Matt Ryan in Shanahan’s attack, it’s hard to imagine they won’t at least kick the tires to see if they can get Stafford to push themselves back to the top of the NFL. to get. mountain.