Matthew Stafford on potential new deal with Lions: ‘Would like to be here long-term’
Matthew Stafford is coming off one of his finest seasons in the Motor City, and he’d prefer the ride to continue there.
Speaking with reporters after Day 2 of the Detroit Lions’ offseason workouts on Tuesday, the former Georgia quarterback expressed his desire to stay with the franchise. However, it’s unclear when he might be putting that in writing at the moment.
Stafford is entering the final year of an extension he signed with the Lions in 2013.
“I would love to (get a new deal done),” Stafford said, according to the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett. “I’ve had a really good time playing here, would like to be here long term. But that’s yet to be seen.”
Stafford has a base salary of $16.5 million, but the extension he’s expected to sign this offseason is thought to be around the ballpark of $25 million or more a year since the NFL’s salary cap has risen dramatically — more than 35 percent — since Stafford signed his last deal.
Stafford revealed that he’s talked with Lions GM Bob Quinn and coach Jim Caldwell about the possibility of a new contract, but Quinn said those talks are in their infancy. Furthermore, Quinn has used the phrase “it takes two sides to do a deal” on more than one occasion, according to Birkett.
At 29 years old, Stafford has played eight seasons with the Lions, completing 65.3 percent of his passes for 4,327 yards, 24 TDs and 10 INTs. He posted a career-high 70.5 QBR while engineering an incredible eight game-winning drives.
In doing so, Stafford led the Lions to a 9-7 record and a berth as a wild card in the playoffs, where they lost 26-6 to the Seattle Seahawks.
