Is Matthew Stafford pushing for trade from Lions?

There have been widespread rumors about a possible Matthew Stafford trade during the offseason, but those rumors have been firmly denied by the Detroit Lions. There’s a new theory regarding why — and that’s that it’s not the organization itself driving those rumors.

According to Michael Silver of NFL Media, some coaches and executives around the league believe that Stafford is the one pushing for a trade from the Lions, not the other way around.

Finally, in my @nflnetwork segment, I said this in reference to the Matthew Stafford trade rumors: some GMs and coaches around the league believe Stafford is the one who wants the Lions to move him… an interesting twist on this story. Stay tuned.

— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) February 28, 2020

The Lions have been aggressive about denying these rumors, and Stafford’s camp not so much. It would be easy to understand why Stafford might want out: he just turned 32, the Lions don’t appear close to contending, and there could be high-profile quarterback jobs available this offseason. However, with the Lions appearing staunchly opposed to the idea, this definitely doesn’t seem likely at this time.