There’s a simple way you can look at it: Players are paid to play. Stafford is under contract, and not so hurt that he can’t play. So he plays.
But there’s a more nuanced way to look at it.
The Lions have nothing left to play for. They are playing out the string, for an interim coach. A new regime is coming in, and it will be a tear-down. It’s unlikely that Stafford, given what he’s paid and the timeframe of a rebuild, will be part of that. Maybe, but unlikely.
So, continuing to play Stafford in meaningless games before a new regime and a rebuild puts his future at risk for nothing. His ability to move on and win elsewhere, perhaps. Again, you can revert to, “He’s paid – a lot – to play. Players play.” And I get it.
But isn’t that kind of a dick move to him?
And if it goes bad, and Stafford gets hurt and rips up a knee or something, you’ve taken a major chip away from a new regime’s rebuild. I still believe the Lions can get a first-round pick for Stafford. I tell the rest of the league, “The first team that steps up with a 1 is the winner,” and I’d be shocked if no team did.
It’s not in Stafford’s best interests, or the Lions best interests going forward, to have Stafford continue to play this year.