NFL teams have started reaching out to the Detroit Lions to gauge what it takes to trade for quarterback Matthew Stafford, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter Tuesday.
This was expected after Saturday, when the Lions and Stafford mutually agreed to a split between the old Detroit quarterback and the only franchise he’s ever played for. A source familiar with the situation said Saturday night that the Lions would be looking for “fair market value” for Stafford, who is the franchise leader in every major passing category.
Stafford will leave Detroit each time he’s traded after throwing 45,109 yards, 282 touchdowns and 144 interceptions. The Lions played three times in the playoff with Stafford and lost all three times in the wildcard round.
He was the team’s choice of No. 1 overall in 2009 – the first choice of then-general manager Martin Mayhew. Mayhew is now the general manager in Washington, one of many NFL teams this off-season needs a quarterback.
Although Stafford has not spoken in public since news of his impending departure was announced, his wife Kelly posted to Instagram on Monday, thanking fans of Detroit and the city itself for embracing her and her family and for what it has ended. 12 years meant for them. .
“Random tears come a lot when I remember not to be here,” Kelly Stafford wrote. “This place has supported me through the most difficult times of my life and during the happiest times and I want to thank you in the right way.
“Whenever I find out what the future holds, you’ll hear from me again with a thank you note that hopefully shows how much gratitude and love I have for this place … but until then we’re going to enjoy our remaining time in Michigan to the fullest, because there really is no other place like this. “
Fans responded to the announcement of a likely transaction by donating $ 9 – Stafford’s jersey number – to the Acoustic Neuroma Association, a charity important to the Staffords after Kelly dealt with an acoustic neuroma in 2019.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Melissa Baumbick, the ANA’s manager of outreach and development, said they have received 1,575 donations of nearly $ 22,000 in honor of the Staffords.
“This kind of awareness is huge for us. It’s really huge for us,” Baumbick told ESPN on Monday. So just being able to get the word out so that doctors know about it and can diagnose it correctly and we don’t have any misdiagnoses and also so that patients are aware and even as far as Kelly has talked about some kind of things she tackled after her surgery, because sometimes there are things that become chronic conditions and keep going after surgery that become kind of life-changing problems for people moving forward.
“Most patients lose some hearing; some patients lose all hearing in one ear. So that’s going to be something they have to deal with, so that kind of awareness is huge.”
The Staffords have also made preparations to leave. They put their mansion in the Detroit suburbs on the market this week at a price of $ 6.5 million. They initially released the house in May, but pulled it off the market when the season started in September.