Detroit Lions GM Bob Quinn assured Matthew Stafford ‘we’re not trading you’

By now, we’ve all heard the Detroit Lions vehemently deny WDIV’s report that the team was fielding calls for trading quarterback Matthew Stafford. Since then, several other reporters have echoed the Lions, saying that teams were being told Stafford wasn’t going anywhere.

But Lions general manager Bob Quinn wanted to make sure the Lions quarterback personally knew of his intentions. On Tuesday, Quinn told a select group of the media that he had a personal conversation with Stafford after that WDIV report went public.

“When the story came out, I called Matthew, and I said, ‘Listen, I haven’t had one conversation. I’m not trying—we’re not trading you, period,’” Quinn said according to MLive’s Kyle Meinke.

And perhaps just as importantly, Stafford responded back to Quinn that he had no interest in being shipped anywhere else. Per Quinn, Stafford has never asked for a trade and he specifically said, “I don’t want to go anywhere.”

Quinn expressed even more confidence in Stafford—particularly regarding his current health—during his time in front of the podium minutes later. Quinn said Stafford would be “full-go” when the offseason program comes around, despite the season-ending back injury in 2019. Quinn also doesn’t have any long-term concerns with Stafford’s back-to-back injuries, and, in fact, believes Stafford is still in his prime.

“In my opinion, when you’re a quarterback, your prime is your late 20s into your early 30s. That’s your prime, because you take the first part of your career and you’re working on all those other things,” Quinn said. “As we saw, how did Matthew play last year when he was out there? I think everyone would agree he played really good. So that’s what we’re expecting when he comes back.”