If Lions Don't Win With Stafford In 2020, 'A Winner's Going To Come Get Him'

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We already know it's a make-or-break season in Detroit for Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia. Could the same be true for Matthew Stafford? 

Stafford's close friend -- and NFL analyst -- Dan Orlovsky believes Stafford will be in a different uniform in 2021 if the Lions don't win with him in 2020. 

“I’ll keep it 100 with you, like, listen, he’s either going to win there this year or a winner’s going to come get him," Orlovsky told the Free Press. "I think if a winner comes gets him, or a team that’s on the brink of winning that's a quarterback away, I think people will finally get to see him on a team that is fully complementary and supports that quarterback play, similar to the 2014 team. Or the 2011 team in some capacities.

“Maybe I’m stupid and naïve and biased, I just think eventually he’ll either win (in Detroit) or will be on a winner (if he doesn’t) because of it.”

Quinn and Patricia have pledged themselves to Stafford over and over. When erroneous trade rumors surfaced this offseason, they both went out of their way to shut them down. They don't want a new QB, even if he's younger and less expensive; they want to build around the one they have. 

But a regime change after this season could shift the outlook. If a new GM and head coach decide they want to move forward without Stafford, it would make sense for both parties to go their separate ways. Stafford's dead cap hit falls to a more manageable $19 million in 2021, then $6 million and $3 million the two years after that. 

Orlovsky has even brought this scenario to Stafford himself. It would allow for an amicable breakup between the Lions and their franchise QB. 

“I think in both cases you could justify it. I’ve said this publicly and I’ve said it to Matthew, 'Listen, if they don’t win, it’s probably the right decision.' And they didn’t not win because of him, but you can totally sit there and go, ‘All right, we tried, it didn’t happen, let’s totally reboot.'"

Not that Stafford is thinking about this as he heads into his 12th season in Detroit. Coming off a career year in his first season in Darrell Bevell's offense, he's ready to make some noise in 2020. 

“He’s just focused on like, ‘Listen, I think we got a good team. I was playing really, really good last year. I feel good, healthy. Like, I think I’ve got plenty of years of really good football left in me,’" Orlovsky said. “Listen, everyone knows he’s smart, so he’s aware. He knows what the reality of the NFL is.”