For Redskins, Matthew Stafford rumors present potential opportunity

There are still two and a half months remaining before the 2020 NFL Draft, which means there’s plenty of time for the circumstances surrounding the Redskins No. 2 overall pick to change.

As we’ve mentioned numerous times before in these introductions, the favorite to be the Washington Redskins selection at No. 2 overall is Ohio State edge rusher Chase Young. While Young is more than deserving of primary consideration at that juncture, it has been noted that trading back, depending on the value gleaned from such a move, could be just as lucrative.

For weeks, the two probabilities have been pitted against one another, incapable of coexisting, but a recent report could change things. Per the Local WDIV news channel in Detroit, the Detroit Lions have had talks about potentially trading veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, which would in turn imply that they may pursue a quarterback early in the 2020 NFL Draft.

It’s important to note up front that these are only rumors at the moment, and not entirely credible ones at that. Stafford’s general manager came out and called the rumors “100 percent false”, and even if it was being considered, the Lions would be encumbered with over $32 million in dead cap.

It’s been reported that Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn are both under pressure to “win now” in 2020, and trading away an established, productive quarterback, while simultaneously hampering the team’s cap flexibility, as well as using the team’s first-round pick on a newly-created need, rather than a more dire one, doesn’t seem at all conducive to the desired outcome.

That said, while the possibility of the Lions trading Stafford is still very unlikely, even with the rumors, it is possible, and that possibility suddenly gives the Redskins an exciting degree of growth potential in the 2020 NFL Draft. If the Lions become a quarterback suitor, then the pick to pace the quarterback additions becomes pick No. 2.

If a team wants their guy, such as the Lions and Dolphins potentially battling over Alabama signal caller Tua Tagovailoa, then they’ll have to trade up to No. 2 in this theoretical bidding war, to outreach the other. If the Lions were to trade up to No. 2, the Redskins would get assets for moving back, and they’d also get Chase Young. We can color that as the best-case scenario right now.

Best-case scenarios don’t happen often in football, and there’s no reason to think this is the outcome that will play out with absolute certainty. But it’s exciting to think about, and if the Redskins play their cards right in this volatile quarterback market, they could come out as the ultimate winners.