Matthew Stafford has gone from a young, up-and-coming quarterback to the old guy in the Detroit Lions' offense almost overnight.
Stafford is still young. At 27, he should be in his football-playing prime this fall.
But with six NFL seasons and 77 starts under his belt, only Calvin Johnson has more experience in the Lions' offense. And only Johnson and backup Lance Moore have more NFL playing time overall.
Because he's one of the team's most veteran players -- and with respected vets such as Dominic Raiola and Rob Sims no longer in Detroit -- Stafford said he feels more responsibility than ever to take on a leadership role.
Raiola and Sims, longtime starters on the offensive line, are free agents whom the Lions are not interested in bringing back.
"I always felt that way, but Calvin and I are probably two of the oldest guys we've got -- and (Brandon) Pettigrew, as well -- two of the oldest guys that we have on offense. So it's on us," Stafford said. "We've got new guys into the system, we've got young guys, we have all sorts of new challenges in front of us, and it's on us to carry the load and bring them along."
As such, Stafford said he has spearheaded a few off-season bonding experiences. He has been out to dinner with groups of players a handful of times this spring and took the offensive line to a recent Detroit Tigers game.
"Just do stuff like that to get to know some of these guys, 'cause whether they haven't played a lot of football for us or they were just coming out of college, it's important to make sure that we're all pulling for each other," Stafford said.
With Raiola and Sims gone, the Lions' once-veteran offensive line is perhaps the greenest position on the team and the one in need of the most preseason nurturing.
All five of this year's projected starters are expected to be 26 or younger when the season starts -- 26-year-old left tackle Riley Reiff, a first-round pick in 2012, is the elder statesman of the group -- and rookie first-round pick Laken Tomlinson is expected to start at left guard.
Stafford, who'll be flanked by two more rookies on offense this fall -- running back Ameer Abdullah and fullback Michael Burton both should play significant minutes -- said the early returns up front are positive. The line looks "extremely athletic" and has done job with its communication, and Stafford is ready to help nurture it this fall.
"I think it's going to be a fun one," he said. "We're going to have some young guys up front, and it'll be a lot of fun just communicating and trying to make sure that we're all on the same page, doing the right thing as much as we possibly can. I think that's going to be a big one for us and for me, personally."