After the Detroit Lions shook up their front office early in the bye week, firing both team president Tom Lewand and general manager Martin Mayhew, rumors started circulating that quarterback Matthew Stafford may be the next to go. If he is, who's next?

When the Lions drafted Stafford with the number one overall in the 2009 NFL Draft, many expected him to be the face of the franchise for years to come and, to an extent, he has been.

In Stafford's six plus seasons in Detroit, he's led the team to the playoffs twice, losing in the Wild Card round both times. He's also set numerous team records, including most career pass completions, most passing yards in a single season, most passing yards in a game, and many, many more, according to Wikipedia.

With that said, Stafford's 2015 campaign has been especially brutal. While a lot of that can be attributed to a porous offensive line, Stafford's decision making has also led to the Lions having a 1-7 record heading towards week ten.

So, if the rumors are believed to be true and the Lions decide to move on from Stafford, who is the best option to fill his shoes? Let's look at the possibilities:

  • Trade: The Lions could look at making a trade for a new starting quarterback, but who would be available? The majority of teams have their franchise quarterbacks in place and won't be looking to get rid of what they already have. So, a trade for a QB doesn't seem all that plausible, unless the team decides to bring in someone else's backup to be the starter and is that really a better option than what the team already has? Probably not.
  • Free Agency: There is a laundry list of quarterbacks that should be available in free agency in 2016, according to SportTrac.com, including current starters Sam Bradford (PHI), Ryan Fitzpatrick (NYJ), Matt Cassel (DAL), and Kirk Cousins (WAS). However, as previously stated when discussing a trade, are any of these options better than what the Lions currently have? Certain signal callers may bring better decision-making and others would bring different physical attributes to the position, but the majority of the free agent QBs available would be a step down from Stafford.
  • The 2016 NFL Draft: A few years ago, certain teams in the NFL adopted the 'Suck for Luck' mentality, in an attempt to draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the first overall selection. The Colts ended up winning that distinction, drafted the QB, and haven't looked back since. Could the Lions conceivably throw the rest of the season, which doesn't seem like it'd be all that difficult, to draft their next quarterback? If we're being completely honest with ourselves, their isn't an Andrew Luck-type quarterback in next year's NFL Draft class. The top prospects include Memphis' Paxton Lynch, Cal's Jared Goff, and Michigan State's Connor Cook. Of course, Lions fans would love to see a Spartan take over under center, but how beneficial would it really be to put Cook out there with such an awful offensive line? Again, is using a top draft pick on a quarterback really a better option than what's in place?
  • Keep Stafford: To me, this is the obvious choice. Though the 2015 season has not been pretty, Stafford has led the team to the playoffs twice and helped them shed their 'laughing stock' label (though they may be gaining it back this season). Does he need to make better decisions? Of course, but it'd also be nice to give him a little bit of time to make those decisions. Stafford isn't the only one to blame for what has happened this season, that's for sure.

With all of that said, how should the Detroit Lions move forward with their quarterback situation?

More From 97.9 WGRD