Colts: Pat McAfee’s message to Matthew Stafford will amp up Indy fans

Former Colts punter Pat McAfee had an ecouraging message for Matthew Stafford over the weekend.

When Philip Rivers announced his intentions to retire, the Indianapolis Colts were left with a gaping hole at the quarterback position. After all, 2020 fourth-round pick Jacob Eason was the only player under contract for next season, and trading for Deshaun Watson, seemingly the only franchise-caliber option set to become available, was never going to be easy.

Luckily for Indy, however, that narrative turned on its head this weekend when news broke that Matthew Stafford and the Lions have mutually agreed to part ways. Almost immediately, insiders and analysts began declaring the Colts as the most logical destination.

In the simplest of terms, Stafford checks all of the boxes. And what he doesn’t have in playoff experience (just three games), he more than makes up for in leadership and toughness — go look up how many injuries he played through this season.

As if Colts fans needed another reason to get amped thinking about who could be under center in 2021, former punter Pat McAfee is advocating for it, and he sent a message directly to the veteran gunslinger.

McAfee might not have any championships or individual hardware (outside of two Pro Bowls) on his resume, but it’s easy to see why so many fans view him as a Colts legend. The 33-year-old often brings so much energy and sarcasm to his analysis that it’s hard to take him seriously, but he undeniably made some salient points during this pep talk.

From always working behind an atrocity of an offensive line and having to overcome perpetual front office ineptitude for over a decade, Stafford is more than justified in demanding a trade and is fully deserving of the opportunity to pursue a championship.

Think about it for a second. Is there one box that the Colts don’t check? They flaunt one of the best offensive lines in the league even with the loss of Anthony Castonzo, a potent rushing attack, an up-and-coming defense that hasn’t even reached its ceiling yet, an excellent general manager in Chris Ballard, and an innovative players-head coach in Frank Reich.

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Ballard and Reich are obviously fully aware of the reasons that make Stafford such a perfect fit with the Colts, so fans should expect trade talks to heat up as we inch closer to the start of the new league year in March.

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