On Matt Stafford and the Carolina Panthers

[t96]

6 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

Well Jake was 29 when we signed him and we got plenty of usage out of him. Wasn't Beuerlein like 29/30 when we signed him and took over as starter at 32/33?

32/33 isn't really that old for a modern NFL QB. He could easily play 6-8 more years if he takes care of himself and wants to play that long. 

Maybe. I don't think it'd be "easy." It's possible but it's a decent sized gamble. There are still very few QBs who have played at a high level into their late 30s or early 40s, and most of them were QBs who had remained very healthy for the most part and didn't take a ton of hits, like Brady and Brees. Stafford has taken a ton of hits and had a ton of nagging, minor injuries. Those things add up and can definitely slow down a career sooner rather than later. 

[Growl]

5 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

If we are in the middle, who the hell is below us?

The teams that didn't win a pointless game against Dwayne Haskins

[kungfoodude]

5 minutes ago, ForJimmy said:

A 32 year old QB doesn’t need to come here and help our young team develop. He should go to the Niners or Pats or a team that is more seasoned. 

He isn't a free agent, he is under contract for the next two seasons. He isn't going to have much of a choice in the hypothetical "Lions move on from Matt Stafford" scenario.

This isn't like the Watson situation.

[kungfoodude]

4 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

Well we are technically slight worse so I guess there is only a handful.  It seems to change every season but unlike them we managed to stay middling.

Well given the amount of winning seasons in franchise history(7 winning seasons in 26 years of existence), I'd say we are a bottom third franchise. The only argument to be made for us being in the middle portion of the league are the two SB appearances and our 22nd ranked all-time winning percentage. 

Not super strong arguments, IMO.

[thefuzz]

Wonder if they will try to move Stafford in the draft or during opening acts of FA?

 

Any thoughts?

[Jon Snow]

Just now, kungfoodude said:

Well given the amount of winning seasons in franchise history(7 winning seasons in 26 years of existence), I'd say we are a bottom third franchise. The only argument to be made for us being in the middle portion of the league are the two SB appearances and our 22nd ranked all-time winning percentage. 

Not super strong arguments, IMO.

I agree, I was just talking out of my ass again.  We are the suck. 

[thefuzz]

1 minute ago, kungfoodude said:

Well given the amount of winning seasons in franchise history(7 winning seasons in 26 years of existence), I'd say we are a bottom third franchise. The only argument to be made for us being in the middle portion of the league are the two SB appearances and our 22nd ranked all-time winning percentage. 

Not super strong arguments, IMO.

Agreed.

Bottom 1/3rd for sure, but with 3 exceptional seasons thrown in there for good measure.

Really a strange and sometimes difficult team to follow through the years.

[Jon Snow]

1 minute ago, thefuzz said:

Wonder if they will try to move Stafford in the draft or during opening acts of FA?

 

Any thoughts?

I'm sure they will try to get something out of him before the draft.  My hope is they will eventually cut him so we have the option of signing him off the street.  I would not trade picks for him or Watson.  I do not want to watch another QB end his career because the team didn't (in this case couldn't) build a team around him.  

Do not seek the treasure!

[TheRumGone]

I really like stafford. He’s a tier below elite but one of his problems is that he’s constantly getting injured but not to the point of missing games. He’s tough as nails and plays through but his level of play suffers. Happened this year with his thumb. Dude could barely throw and was still out there against us. This seems to happen a lot with him. And with our oline up in the air it could be a recipe for disaster because he’s not really that mobile.

[TheProcess]

Brought this up several times over the last month. Stafford would be great here. 

Stafford at 32 has a good 5 years left in him. McCaffrey is signed for 5 more years. Please give me a 5 year window with Stafford and CMC during a period where the Saints are in cap hell and losing Brees. Falcons are in bad cap situation, Ryan on his way out, and just dysfunctional right now. Brady, Gronk, Suh, and several others are on the way out in Tampa.

You have have 5 years to find a way to draft your future QB after Stafford.

Stafford with CMC, DJ, Anderson, and maybe Samuel would be lethal. All of those big plays Teddy missed, yeah that problem gone. Once the big plays start flying, the underneath stuff becomes wide open for the YAC yards. 

Get Stafford, trade down in the first round getting another 2nd round pick. Make sure to address LT and Center in the draft. 

Trade Teddy wherever you can. Patriots wanted him last offseason, maybe they still do? Bill likes Teddy. Teddy to Patriots for Joe Thuney if possible. Having Thuney between two rookies at LT and Center would be great.

[Raleigh PF]

Stafford is at the top of my list in terms of vet QBs I'd like to have to bridge to the next franchise QB, provided we can ever find it.

The problem is, how do you fit him under the cap? The Panthers are stuck with Teddy and no one is going to take him in trade. I just don't see spending $50M+ at the QB position.

The other problem is trade cost. While I would jump at the chance to give up multiple 1st round picks for Watson, I can't say that I'd be willing to give up even one for Stafford. 

So yeah, Stafford would be a great fit, but I don't see how we get from Point A (Panthers with Teddy) to Point B (Panthers with Stafford), unless someone can help me navigate that mess.

[AceBoogie]

48 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I don't like spamming picks like the Lions did at WR for years before finally landing Megatron. This is a strong class. There's a very good chance that there will be a very good QB not named Trevor Lawrence come out of this class. Do our homework and figure out who that is and go get him if we're not going to make a move on Watson or Stafford. That's my take. I just don't like our chances of things falling our way if we sit tight at #8 but we'll see.

History tells you that you need to draft the guy. Stafford shouldn’t be in play at all. Watson would be an outlier 

[Panther'sBigD]

I want Watson, but not for three firsts. We don't have the draft capital to make a trade like that without it hurting us for years to come. We're not a QB away from being a complete team; not even close. 

If we can get Stafford for a reasonable price, I say do it. Rebuild the line through this draft, give them a year to gel with a proven QB under center and if we get to the playoffs, we package future picks together in the 2022 draft and go get Sam Howell or whoever is a good fit. 

[kungfoodude]

2 minutes ago, Raleigh PF said:

Stafford is at the top of my list in terms of vet QBs I'd like to have to bridge to the next franchise QB, provided we can ever find it.

The problem is, how do you fit him under the cap? The Panthers are stuck with Teddy and no one is going to take him in trade. I just don't see spending $50M+ at the QB position.

The other problem is trade cost. While I would jump at the chance to give up multiple 1st round picks for Watson, I can't say that I'd be willing to give up even one for Stafford. 

So yeah, Stafford would be a great fit, but I don't see how we get from Point A (Panthers with Teddy) to Point B (Panthers with Stafford), unless someone can help me navigate that mess.

Even if we did keep both(and we absolutely wouldn't) we would be under $50 mil in 2021 and 2022. 

Remember, all the prorated bonus money for Stafford stays with the Lions. His actual pay would be $20 mil in 2021 and $23 mil in 2022. That's actually less than what we would be paying Teddy.