May 4th, 2009 
Matt Loede 
Posted in 
After last seasons quick rise to fame of rookie QB’s Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco, there’s been a lot of talk about throwing #1 pick Matthew Stafford into the fire for the 0-16 Lions as the starter in 2009. This past weekend the Lions had their first minicamp, and while Stafford showed some good and bad, being a starter or not remains to be seen.
For now, the team can still turn to veteran Daunte Culpepper, who is being brought back to for the time being – be the starter for however long it takes till Stafford is ready.
“It’s May,” Lions GM Mayhew said. “We’ve got plenty of time to figure all that out. Daunte is a guy who’s a vet. He’s been around. He’s a pro, and I trust Daunte. He’s got a lot of ability, and I anticipate that if we had something to do today, Daunte would be the guy today. But we’ve got a lot of time to work, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Mayhew also commented about the progress that it will take for Stafford to be ready to go, and that new offensive coordinator Scott Linehan has a plan in mind to make it happen. “I think the most important thing is to focus on where the guy is in his development,” Mayhew said. “Is he ready? And when he’s ready, you put him in.”
So while Lions fans may want to see their first-round pick on the field asap, it may take awhile till the team truly feels he’s ready for the fire of being a starter in the NFL.
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