Detroit Lions Playing it Smart With Extension For Matthew Stafford

If there’s anything to take away over the last two seasons, it would be Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions is clearly one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Now, it appears the Lions are ready to reward Stafford with the type of money that deserves to go to one of the league’s top quarterbacks.

Stafford and the Lions are reportedly on the verge of a three-year extension worth close to $53 million–making $43 million guaranteed through 2017. When taking into consideration the type of numbers displayed by Stafford over the last two years, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to see the organization lock Stafford up now instead of taking the risk of having to pay him more money down the road.

There were plenty of concerns surrounding Stafford during his first two seasons in the league with all of his injury problems, but the quarterback has proven just how dangerous he can be over the last two seasons when healthy. The fact that Stafford has thrown for over 10,000 yards and 61 touchdowns over the last two seasons is plenty enough to show why he ranks near the top of the league with the rest of the quarterbacks and it wouldn’t be a surprise if put up big numbers once again in 2013.

Plus, having a wide receiver like Calvin Johnson will always make life easier for Stafford–so this was a solid move on Detroit’s end.

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