ESPN analyst: Matthew Stafford has not clinched place in Canton just yet

On3 imageby:Jonathan Wagner02/15/22

Jonathan Wagner

On3 image
Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images.

Now that Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has a Super Bowl under his belt, many have penciled in as a Hall of Fame quarterback once his career comes to an end. But that talk is premature to ESPN analyst Mina Kimes. While Kimes believes that Stafford can still play his way into Hall of Fame worthiness, she doesn’t believe that he is quite there yet.

NFL cornerback Richard Sherman also recently chimed in on the Hall of Fame debate with Stafford. Stafford believes that the bar to make it to the Hall of Fame has been set incredibly low, and Kimes alluded to his thoughts when addressing Stafford’s candidacy at this point in his playing career.

“I do not,” Kimes said when asked if she thinks Stafford is a Hall of Famer. “Right now I do not. I agree with (Richard) Sherman. Matthew Stafford just had a hell of a postseason, hell of a season and deserves a ton of credit for proving his critics wrong. But I think we’ve gotta pump the brakes a little going right from the Super Bowl to Canton. My opinion is that the Hall of Fame, the bar that Sherman refers to, is a player should be the best, or among the best, at his 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. Now the case for him getting in at this point is this incredible postseason run, and all of the counting stats. The fact that he ranks so high in career yards and touchdowns.”

While Kimes says Stafford isn’t in yet, he still ‘has a chance’ to make it to the Hall of Fame

Stafford has been in the league for 13 years. He spent the first 12 seasons of his career with the Detroit Lions before being traded to the Rams ahead of this year. In his NFL career, Stafford has thrown for 49,995 yards, 323 touchdowns and 161 interceptions in 182 regular season games. In seven playoff games, he has thrown for 2,096 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions.

But Stafford’s regular season record is 86-95-1. In the playoffs, he is 4-3. All four of his playoff wins came this season on the Rams run to the Super Bowl. While he was on some bad teams in Detroit, Kimes believes that the stats simply aren’t enough to warrant Stafford making the Hall of Fame.

“But you’ve got to look at the NFL and how it’s changed over the last few years, last decade really. 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 chance to get in if he continues to play at a high level longer and gets to more Super Bowls, but for right now can’t we just enjoy what he’s accomplished without putting him in a gold jacket?”