Sunday open thread: Should the Lions move on from Stafford after 2020?

It’s been a long journey with Matthew Stafford at the helm of our beloved Detroit Lions. Just over a year ago there was MVP chatter surrounding his name. Now we’re talking about moving on from the greatest quarterback in Lions history. We’ve fallen on hard times as Lions fans, and the future is very uncertain at this point.

At 3-5, the team is in a position where the outlook is very bleak for head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn. This is Patricia’s third year, and we’ve only seen the team get worse on defense—a phase where he’s supposed to be some sort of mastermind. There is no hope at this point for Patricia to right the ship, and Quinn is tethered to him as a result, because he is responsible for this.

So what does that mean for Stafford? If the Lions move on from the current regime and keep Stafford, that would mark the fourth head coach and third general manager he’s played under. It would also likely be the fifth offensive coordinator he’s played under if Darrell Bevell is gone.

At this point, we know who Stafford is. He’s not an elite quarterback, but a very good one that needs the necessary tools and brains around him to contend for a title. Unfortunately, the Lions were never able to put all the pieces together around him. The Lions could have another shot at this, or they could move on from Stafford entirely after another failed year.

Which leads us to today’s Question of the Day:

Should the Lions move on from Stafford after this year?

My answer: Assuming that this is another failed season, I think the unfortunate truth is that the Lions need to start planning for a life without Stafford. This is the end of the road for the current regime, and bringing in a new one means that the new staff will want to get “their guys.”

The Lions will need to draft a quarterback and go with a full rebuild to clean up Bob Quinn’s mess. There are some names that could still serve as the backbone for this team, such as Jeff Okudah, Amani Oruwariye, D’Andre Swift, Kenny Golladay (if he’s re-signed) and others. Stafford is unlikely to be on that list, but it’s still possible he could stay for another year to groom a young quarterback in a rebuild year.

What do you—the Pride of Detroit community—think the Lions should do with Stafford?