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Matthew Stafford just finished a legacy-defining postseason stretch. That included winning the Super Bowl and defeating Tom Brady in his final NFL game. In 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, Stafford didn't get a single playoff win. That made the last four games the most meaningful games of his career.
With a Super Bowl ring to go along with impressive career stats, many have begun arguing Stafford should be a future Hall of Famer. It has been a controversial debate, with the splits being relatively mixed.
One analyst who doesn't believe Matthew Stafford deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame is ESPN's Mina Kimes. Kimes appeared on First Take Tuesday to express why. She began by noting Stafford's resume, which doesn't include an abundance of accolades.
“There's a lot of credit for proving his critics wrong. But I think we got to pump the brakes a little on going right from the Super Bowl to Canton." Kimes said. "My opinion is that the Hall of Fame, the bar that Sherman refers to should be that a player has been the best or among the best at their position, ideally for some period of time. Matthew Stafford’s played 12 seasons in the NFL, in those 12 seasons, he's been in one Pro Bowl. Never been an all-pro. He has finished top-five in passer rating once and top-five in touchdowns three times."
Despite Stafford doing his best on poor Lions teams, Kimes' point that Stafford lacks All-Pro and Pro Bowl nods are legitimate points.
Kimes followed that up by criticizing the bar of what classifies as a Hall of Famer in the NFL today. She cites the NFL transforming into a passing league and the fact that more and more players will be eligible for counting stats alone. Kimes added:
"Now the case for him getting in at this point is this incredible postseason run and all the counting stats, right? The fact that he ranks so high and career yards and touchdowns. We got to look at the NFL and how it's changed over the last few years, last decade really. And you're gonna see if you start leaning on those counting stats, a lot of players will get in simply because of the changing nature of football and how long they've played.”
Matthew Stafford has a lot of years left to build his Hall of Fame case
The debate over whether Matthew Stafford will be a Hall of Famer or not is just beginning. The Los Angeles Rams quarterback just turned 34 years old. He has many years ahead of him to continue building his resume.
That said, Richard Sherman pointing out what it takes to be in the Hall of Fame nowadays has sparked a debate.
At 34, Stafford is already just five yards away from 50,000 in his career. That ranks as the 12th most in NFL history. His 323 passing touchdowns also rank as the 12th all-time.
The Rams roster is poised to contend for years to come, and with Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, and potentially Odell Beckham Jr. flanking Stafford, there's no telling as to how far his career can go.
