Lions: 3 NFL teams who should trade for Matthew Stafford in 2021

The crown jewel of Highland Park could be coming home to DFW

If there was ever a time for Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to push the red button, this would be the time. Stafford grew up in nearby Highland Park, Texas. While he did not stay in The Lone Star State for college, you would be hard-pressed to find a better quarterbacking prospect coming out of high school or college than Stafford. He was a five-star and went No. 1 overall back in 2009.

Though Tony Romo was a great player too, landing Stafford would be like getting the second half of Troy Aikman’s career that never was. Aikman retired around the same age as Stafford is exiting Detroit. Jones may love Dak Prescott as much as he loved Romo, but this is Stafford. He is a quarterback worth pounding one’s fist on the table to make a move for. Most people would agree.

Stafford’s arm talent on its best days are every bit as good as what Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy had in Aaron Rodgers back in his days leading the Green Bay Packers. You could argue adding Stafford gives the Cowboys the best quarterback in the entire NFC East. He has not had a running game like Dallas has had recently with Ezekiel Elliott since his days playing at Georgia.

Overall, this is really simple for the Cowboys to pull off. It requires them to not tag Prescott in free agency and let Andy Dalton walk after one year’s worth of service. This frees up enough cap space to go all-out and land a player like Stafford. While he took too much of a beating in Detroit to play well into his 40s, a change of scenery and a sort of homecoming could be the best thing for him.