Lions Will Live or Die With Stafford

Detroit tried to pretend that it could live without Matthew Stafford. The Lions let rumors swirl about them trading out of the No. 1 pick, taking an offensive tackle, even being satisfied with Aaron Curry.

Their deal with Stafford, announced late Friday night, makes all that seem ridiculous now. A 6-year contract potentially worth more than $70 million is not a deal struck out of reluctance or uncertainty. For better or worse, the Lions have made it known that Stafford is the guy they believe can turn around their franchise.

There is no turning back now -- the next six years of Detroit Lions football will be judged on what Stafford does.

You think that's unfair? That it puts too much emphasis on a single player amongst a roster of 53? Forget it.

You don't take a quarterback No. 1 in the draft, and you certainly do not make him the highest-paid draft pick in NFL history, if you don't expect division titles and playoff wins to come out of it somewhere down the road.

Detroit's franchise knows better than most how damaging a failed QB pick can hurt: the name Joey Harrington still conjures up looks of disgust and anger in the Motor City, even after the 2008 Lions left a near-infinite list of players to be fed up with. Harrington was supposed to be the savior when the Lions drafted him out of Oregon in 2002. Seven years later, the Harrington pick ranks just behind Barry Sanders' sudden retirement announcement and the last play of an 0-16 season on Detroit fans' list of moments they'd like to forget.

So Stafford not only will have to carry the weight of a moribund franchise and a massive contract, but also the lingering stench of Harrington's struggles.

And all this before his name's even been called at the draft.

Those in charge of picking Stafford are, mercifully for Detroit, different than in 2002. Instead of Mariucci and Millen, the Lions have Jim Schwartz and Martin Mayhew who have, at least in a very short window, seemed competent while attempting to rebuild. There are already Lions fans clamoring that this contract undoes that progress. After all, Detroit postured for weeks with Stafford, tried to play it firm, and then ended up handing out the largest contract ever to come out of the draft.

But just pretend for a second that this works. I'm fairly certain everyone in Michigan will quickly forget about the price of Stafford's contract if he happens to bring home an NFC North crown or, dare to dream, a postseason victory.

For Schwartz's and Mayhew's sake, he better. As soon as Stafford's pen hit that paper, and he agreed to his Detroit deal, all the Lions' middle ground disappeared. There is no room to wait around for Stafford to develop for three or four years. He's going to have a few weeks, one season tops, and then he'll be expected to get the job done.

The Lions are apparently confident that he will, and they'll be crossing their fingers and hoping they are right. Otherwise, the NFL's worst team has another six years of very expensive misery ahead of it.