Tired of NFL Draft talk? Next Detroit Lions topic will be even more exhausting
By Zac Snyder
Detroit Lions draft talk has reached a saturation point, but fans wanting to just get it over with should be careful what they wish for.
There comes a time leading up to every NFL Draft that it feels like all the talk has been overdone and it’s time to just get the event over with. Even the biggest mock draft fan eventually tires of seeing what the various prognosticators think the Detroit Lions will do with their pick(s).
NFL Draft fatigue is real but Lions fans will long for it with the kind of sports talk radio fodder that likely comes next.
“Why hasn’t Matthew Stafford signed an extension yet?”
“I don’t think Stafford wants to be here.”
“Here we go again with another Ndamukong Suh situation.”
It’s sure to start in May. It will continue through June and only end whenever the deal inevitably gets done. Talking heads and radio callers will take the lack of a deal in June or July as a sign that a deal might not get done. Blame will go to both sides, questioning the front office’s competence (same old Lions!) and assigning sentiments on Stafford he has never once projected.
With proper perspective, a summer of exhausting Stafford contract talk can be avoided.
Just because a contract extension for Stafford is a priority doesn’t mean it will or needs to be an immediate order of business as soon as the draft ends. Getting an extension done with Darius Slay was a top priority last offsesaon. That deal was announced on July 29.
We should all remember that this won’t be Stafford’s first contract extension with the Lions. Stafford re-upped for three additional years in 2013. That deal got done on July 9.
Last year it was Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts in the position Stafford and the Lions are in now. News of that record-breaking deal dropped the same day as Slay’s extension – July 29.
A Stafford extension not getting done soon after the draft shouldn’t be a surprise. The real surprise is if a deal is reach before July based on team and league precedent.
Next: A Quarterback for the Lions in Each Round
If the Lions report for training camp and Stafford is still under contract for just the 2017 season, then all talk is fair game. Until that point, find something (anything) more important to worry about.