Matthew Stafford-Future HOF fame QB right here on our team

[Rammo]

Is he worthy?
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(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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By Jay Hart

It’s Hot Take Thursday, so here we go: With a Super Bowl victory, is Matthew Stafford a Hall of Famer?

This debate got bandied about in our chat room Wednesday, with a whole lot of, “Nooooooooo!”

Here’s the truth, like it or not: Stafford may just get in even without a Super Bowl victory.

Next season, Stafford will be 34. Given the current trend of quarterbacks playing well into their late 30s, he has a realistic shot at 70,000 yards passing. He’s five yards shy of 50,000 right now, meaning five more seasons of 4,000+ yards will launch him into a stratosphere only Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre have touched.

He also has a shot at 500 touchdown passes, or at least moving into the top five in that category, too.

Those stats certainly have the padded feel of a Rafael Palmeiro-type (3,000 hits, 500 home runs) career, minus the PED accusations. And Stafford’s inability to get the Lions into the playoffs more than three times in a dozen seasons in Detroit — and never a single playoff victory — will disqualify him in the eyes of many.

But … what if we look at it another way? Instead of his lack of playoff success being a knock against him, what if putting up nearly 5,000 yards for a 4-12 team is actually a feather in his cap? What if we consider that he threw for 45,000 yards in Detroit in spite of the Lions' perpetual ineptitude?

Could just any old quarterback do that?

The evidence certainly exists, even in just a single season in Los Angeles, that the Lions were holding him back. He’s certainly living up to the hype in L.A., and that’s got to be worth something.

This is the reality of professional sports: circumstance matters and can change the course of careers, lives and legacies. Jerry Rice had Joe Montana and Steve Young throwing to him. That had to help. Tim Couch got drafted by the Browns. That certainly didn’t. And Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford all landed in Detroit, put up monster numbers and lost a lot. That’s some good company for Stafford.

With a Super Bowl, Stafford’s legacy changes completely. He’ll be a lock for the Hall. Without one, the numbers should wind up large enough to push him in, too.

For a deeper dive on this debate, check out Frank Schwab’s column.

And Let us know what you think right here.

Readers react: You've heard from us, now we want to hear from you. Hit us up at readandreact@yahoosports.com with thoughts on Matthew Stafford's Hall of Fame candidacy or anything else in today's newsletter, and you might just see your words below.
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[Cornell29]

Mcvay, Matt, AD got this. Rams have to and will get the SB this year. There are no other options. With all the uncertainty, and being just 2 games away, this needs to be the year.

Time to do this. Time for the Rams to win the SB, remove the horrible taste of 2018, and rewrite Stafford legacy.

[Rammo]

Let's win two-We might be even better next year with a full offseason of McVay/Stafford mind meld

[FelixTheStonerCat]

Let's win two-We might be even better next year with a full offseason of McVay/Stafford mind meld

See? I tell people this all the time. Look at the talent we drafted the last two seasons that never really truly got a chance. Now here's another thing to worry about, if Tom Brady retires, Aaron Rodgers goes to an AFC team and Russell Wilson goes to an AFC team, do you think we'd have the best QB in the conference? If so, my little heart tells me that we could POSSIBLY run the NFC for the next few years if everything falls into place. I get so giddy thinking about this. I haven't been this amped for a Rams season since the last Superbowl championship team when I was in highschool.

[Rammo]

Let's win two-We might be even better next year with a full offseason of McVay/Stafford mind meld

See? I tell people this all the time. Look at the talent we drafted the last two seasons that never really truly got a chance. Now here's another thing to worry about, if Tom Brady retires, Aaron Rodgers goes to an AFC team and Russell Wilson goes to an AFC team, do you think we'd have the best QB in the conference? If so, my little heart tells me that we could POSSIBLY run the NFC for the next few years if everything falls into place. I get so giddy thinking about this. I haven't been this amped for a Rams season since the last Superbowl championship team when I was in highschool.

Van Jefferson, TuTu and the return of RW will improve our WR corps over the offseason. It would be amazing to keep OBJ but it's not a necessity. Stafford will be back with more experience running a McVay offense and possibly a SB title to bolster his confidence. The young RB crew will only get better and healthier. The D-line returns mostly intact. Can we keep Floyd and Von Miller-who knows but it would be great to see this line-up all season long. LB gets better with EJ 50 healthy and more experienced but we certainly need that MLB/ILB thumper to replace Reeder. Travin Howard looks good as a cover guy at LB but I'm not sure where he fits for next year? The DB's and safeties need some depth and talent added to the pool but we will be better in 2022 than we were in 2021 if we tweak or get rid of Morris crappy system. I see an improved team for next year and unknown after that due to FA departures and lack of drafted depth/talent but that is too far down the road to be worried about now. If McSnead hits a few late round gems each year we're fine. Stafford could play 3-4 more seasons and we'll contend as long as he is here.