Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus took a look at five potential landing spots for Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford and the Lions have reportedly agreed to part ways, with a trade likely to ship the quarterback to another team.

Of course, that naturally led to speculation that Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers might be interested in replacing Jimmy Garoppolo with Stafford, with many naming the team as a top potential destination. The move would provide some salary-cap savings but require surrendering draft capital to pull off a trade.


Monson names the potential landing spots for Stafford as the New England Patriots, Washington Football Team, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, and Chicago Bears, which seems like a solid list given the uncertain quarterback situations for each team. As many were quick to name Indianapolis and San Francisco as potential destinations for Stafford, Monson named the Houston Texans, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the 49ers as long-shots.

"The Niners have the capacity to cut bait with Jimmy Garoppolo and are armed with a magician in Kyle Shanahan," notes Monson, "but would they want to give up that much for a quarterback like Stafford, given what Shanahan has already achieved with less?"


Then you have the ongoing Deshaun Watson saga in Houston. ESPN's Adam Schefter, via Chris Mortensen, doesn't expect any Texans coaching decision to repair the relationship between team and quarterback, with a separation inevitable.

Wrote Schefter: "A source told ESPN's Sarah Barshop last week that the Texans have had internal conversations about possible trade partners and what their quarterback position would look like in the future without Watson."

The Watson-to-49ers chatter has recently cooled amid reports that the quarterback prefers the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins as landing spots. The possibility of a Stafford-49ers union has also slowed the rumors. Acquiring Stafford versus Watson would certainly be cheaper, not only in salary but in what a team would have to give up to pull off a trade.


The Watson, Stafford, and even Garoppolo storylines are sure to dominate 49ers-related headlines until the situations with all three are finalized.



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