Detroit Lions' commitment to QB Matthew Stafford near NFL bottom in ESPN's rankings

The Detroit Lions and quarterback Matthew Stafford have a long-standing marriage that dates back 11 years to the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. He's never been traded nor signed to play elsewhere. He's broken records and made three playoff appearances.

That seems like a strong marriage.

ESPN's Dan Graziano revealed Friday that he isn't too sure, ranking the Lions at No. 27 overall in their financial commitment to Stafford compared to other NFL teams and starting quarterbacks. Last year, the Lions and Stafford were No. 7.

"Let me be clear: I do not believe the Lions are planning to trade Stafford," wrote Graziano, who has Stafford in the "prove-it time" stage. "They've said they aren't, publicly and privately, and I believe he will be their quarterback in 2020. But this is simply an exercise in ranking contract flexibility."

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The Lions remain on the book for Stafford's five-year, $135 million extension signed in August 2017. The contract includes $60.5 million guaranteed. One reason for a low financial commitment ranking is because of the contract structure, Graziano explained.

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"The Lions are paying Stafford $15 million this year and nothing is guaranteed after that," he wrote. "In fact, as of the restructure Stafford did in December, $7.2 million of that $15 million is now an option bonus tied to a 2023 option on his contract, and the Lions have until the day before their first game of the 2020 regular season to decide whether to exercise it. If they don't exercise it, that $7.2 million gets added to his 2020 salary, so he gets the $15 million either way. And the 2023 year voids no matter what, so this is just a salary-cap manipulation move.

"What's odd about it is the date on the option bonus. Since the Lions don't have to decide on it until the day before their season starts, they could trade Stafford before then," Graziano wrote, "and the acquiring team would be the one paying the option bonus and the salary."

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Detroit has maintained its plea that Stafford will be its starting quarterback this season. Coach Matt Patricia called any ongoing rumors laughable.

Stafford put his $6.5 million Bloomfield Township home on the market, but his wife, Kelly, said the couple is not looking to leave the Lions. When the Lions had a chance to get any quarterback (other than Joe Burrow) in the 2020 NFL draft, general manager Bob Quinn backed Stafford. After WDIV-TV reported in February the Lions had been in trade talks about Stafford for weeks, the front office shut the conversation down.

In Stafford's 11-year career, he's played in 149 games, thrown for more than 41,000 yards and 256 touchdowns against 134 interceptions with a 62.5% completion rate. Last season, he went eight games before sustaining a season-ending back injury. Detroit finished 3-12-1.

The only teams ranked lower than the Lions: Las Vegas Raiders (Derek Carr), Chicago Bears (Mitchell Trubisky), Denver Broncos (Drew Lock), New England Patriots (Jarrett Stidham) and Jacksonville Jaguars (Gardener Minshew).

Evan Petzold is a sports reporting intern at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.