Well before he got to the NFL, Tracy Walker was a Matthew Stafford fan. Then he became Stafford's teammate in Detroit -- and relished every chance to pick him off in practice.
"I done picked off Stafford a couple times," Walker said Wednesday. "I was always a Stafford fan, so that’s always one of my favorites when I can go back and say, 'Yeah, I picked off Stafford.'"
This Sunday, Walker will get a chance to do it in a game. His eyes lit up at the thought of it. He grinned and said it would "definitely" mean more. The Lions are traveling to LA to face their former quarterback, and Walker would like to bring a souvenir home to Detroit. Because if he picks off Stafford for real ...
"I’ma make him sign it," Walker said. "Just cuz, you know, it’s all good."
The fourth-year safety is still searching for his first interception of the season. He's also playing some of the best football of his career. That's not lost on Stafford, who said Wednesday that Walker has stood out on tape as a player who's continuing to "elevate his game." Stafford said he's looking forward to the challenge. So is Walker, who knows Stafford poses quite the challenge himself. He has a career-high passer rating of 116.6, second best in the NFL.
"He’s throwing the ball at an exceptional level and he’s playing free. He’s having fun, you can definitely see that on the film," Walker said. "I'm looking forward to him going out there and trying to have fun against us. He knows us. This has been his backyard. With that being said, Stafford is coming into this game, I believe, to air it out on us -- and I’m looking forward to the challenge.
"He’s my former quarterback, I love him. He’s a great guy and I love the competitive nature that we always bring out of each other. It’s going to be a great battle."
So will it be a chess match. After three years of practicing against him, Walker knows Stafford's tendencies as well as any safety in the league. He said he's "got a couple things" he'll be looking for on Sunday, "tips and trades" he's only sharing with his "insiders." That is, his young teammates in the secondary. Walker's also telling them this:
"Stafford’s a great quarterback, man. There’s not really much you can take from him that you can find as a weakness. You just gotta go out there and execute your assignments."
Like a lot of Lions fans, Walker said he still roots for Stafford from afar. He said he pulls for all of his ex-teammates, "regardless if I play against them or not." He hopes they do the same for him.
"Now when I’m on that field, you’re not my teammate, you’re not my friend," he said. "But after the game, man, it’s all love. That’s the bottom line. I want all my friends and fellow teammates to do their best, and likewise with me. I want them to hold me high and expect me to do well."
Stafford said it's been "fun for me to see" Walker's growth this season. It's been fuel for the Lions, assuming they plan to keep him around. Walker ranks as the NFL's third best safety, per Pro Football Focus, and Detroit's top defensive player. Freed from Matt Patricia's defense, where Walker was continually miscast the prior two seasons, he looks like a cornerstone of the Lions' defense moving forward.
"I can definitely admit that I’ve improved on and off the field with this coaching staff," he said.
Walker, 26, will be a free agent after this season. He's in line for a big raise, either here or somewhere else. On a defense desperate for more playmakers, it would behoove the Lions to keep one of the only playmakers they have. Walker will let his play speak for itself. Asked if he's had any talks with the Lions about a new deal, he said, "I don't worry about that."
"If upstairs wants to keep me here, they know how to reach out to my agent. I stay out of that," he said. "My job is to go out there and execute to the best of my abilities. So as far as contract talking and extensions, I could care less about that because I still got 10 more games. I'ma control what I can control."