Don’t panic over Matthew Stafford’s house being up for sale

On Thursday afternoon, a house listing for Matthew Stafford’s Bloomfield Township house was posted online, suggesting that Stafford, his wife, three kids (and another incoming) are potentially on the move. The price for their eye-popping 7,720 square feet home: $6.5 million.

As noted by Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, rumors surrounding the sale of their home had been around for months—well prior to the trade rumors from February.

Undoubtedly, this house listing will lead to a bunch of new rumors. Stafford is on the move! Stafford is retiring! The Lions told Stafford they’re drafting a quarterback next year!

But I’m here to tell you all to calm the hell down.

First, the Lions have no intention of moving on from Stafford. If they did, they would have just spent the third overall pick on a quarterback. Their decision to pass on Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert shows in no uncertain terms that they are loyal to Stafford.

As for Stafford potentially being ready to move on, the Lions quarterback spoke with the local media hours before the listing went up and reaffirmed his commitment both to the game of football and the Detroit Lions.

“Listen, I’m here, I want to be here. I love being a Detroit Lion, I love leading this team,” Stafford said Thursday.

As for his commitment to football, Stafford, again, has been clear that he wants to play the game for as long as he can, despite the injuries and turbulent seasons recently.

“I love playing football. I don’t know what I would do in a fall without it, as I think a lot of Americans probably would say the same.”

Or just go back a few months:

“I want to play for a long time, yeah,” Stafford said back in December.

The weekend is almost certainly going to be filled with speculation about Stafford’s future in Detroit, but remember, this is a family about to add their fourth child. As nice as their house is, it’s possible they want something more than a five-bedroom house. Or maybe they want to stay in Atlanta during most of the offseason and rent out a place in season.

Either way, this news should not question Stafford’s commitment to Detroit nor football.

UPDATE: Matthew’s wife, Kelly, explained why they’re selling the home Friday via Instagram. And, predictably, it has nothing to do with Matthew’s future with the Lions.

UPDATE 2: Birkett talked to Stafford’s real estate agent, and the agent said the Staffords are “actively looking at properties” in Michigan. So, the end.