Report: One-third of NFL teams have called the Lions about Matthew Stafford

As Adam Schefter reported on Tuesday, the race for Matthew Stafford is officially on. The Detroit Lions more-or-less put him on the market over the weekend after the veteran quarterback reportedly asked for a trade. Not wanting to go through another rebuild in Detroit, Stafford is hoping to play elsewhere in 2021.

The Lions appear willing to meet this demand, and that has drawn a ton of attention across the league. In fact, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport up to 10-12 teams have already contacted the Lions.

“The Lions, of course, began immediately fielding calls from teams interested,” Rapoport said. “From what I understand, about a third of the league—almost a third of the league—has called the Lions. Significant interest in Matthew Stafford.”

Of course, a simple phone call to Detroit doesn’t necessarily indicate serious interest in Stafford. It could simply be teams inquiring about the asking price for Stafford, and if it’s out of their price range that could be the end of it.

Still, with so many teams having unknown situations at quarterback next year—Schefter predicted upwards of 18 teams may have a new quarterback in 2021—you have to believe the Lions will have an active market for Stafford.

So what kind of return are we talking here? Rapoport believes it starts with a first-round pick.

“(The Lions) should be able to get at least a first rounder there for wherever he goes,” he said.

That falls in line with what PFF’s Brad Spielberger told us in our Q&A on a potential Stafford trade.

“I think Stafford’s price will be a first-round pick and then a second or third depending on how many suitors ultimately emerge,” Spielberger wrote.

Well, if Rapoport’s report is accurate, then there are a lot of potential suitors out there, and Detroit could be getting the higher end of those estimates. Time will tell.