Matthew Stafford Says He Wishes He ‘Could’ve Gotten It Done’ for the Lions

Former Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford sat down with NBC’s Peter King for the most recent Football Morning in America column, and during the chat, he reflected on his time with the Lions.

Stafford, as he has before, indicated that he asked for the trade. He also said he's grateful the Lions said "yes."

“It’s tough to lose. Everybody knows that,” Stafford said in the interview with King. “For me, it wasn’t so much that as it was just kind of knowing where the organization was going. It was going through a big change with new head coach, new general manager. Gonna be a lot of new players as well. I just felt like the timing was right. It was well within their rights to tell me that it wasn’t, and I would’ve understood."

He added, "Just really appreciate them for at least entertaining the idea and then obviously going through and together making that happen. It’s something that as a player, you want to have chances at it. Luckily, they were great and sent me to a place that’s got a bunch of great players and a bunch of recent success.”

King later asked Stafford if he felt like he let Detroit down during his time with the Lions. It's a tough question.

"Definitely," Stafford said. "I sit there and go, ‘Man, I wish I could’ve gotten it done.’ I mean, it would’ve been amazing to have a Super Bowl parade down Woodward Avenue in Detroit. Didn’t happen. Tough pill to swallow as a competitor and somebody who touches the ball on every single offensive play. You definitely look back and wish you’d done a few things different here or there in some games, that maybe change the outcomes of seasons, but I’m focused completely forward now."