Matthew Stafford glad to have Chase Daniel with Lions

[Roary]

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Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is glad to have a backup with some experience again.

The fact it’s someone he’s known for years makes it even better.

Via Mike O’Hara of the team’s official website, Stafford said he liked the addition of Chase Daniel to their quarterback room, since they go back to their common roots as Texas high school stars.

“He was really a good high school player, and a good college player,” Stafford said. “He did a nice job of building a career in the NFL. We grew up not far from each other. He and I have known each other for a long time. Off and on throughout our NFL careers. I’d go up and talk to him whenever we played one of his teams.

“I’m happy to have him here. He’s a guy who’s been around some good offenses and some good offensive minds. I’m happy to have him on our team. He’s a good dude.”

Daniel won two state titles at Southlake Carroll High School, while Stafford won one at Highland Park (they play in different divisions). Since then, things took a turn, as Stafford would go onto become a top overall pick and Daniel has settled in as a veteran backup.

But after having younger quarterbacks (Jake Rudock, Jeff Driskel, and David Blough) around the last few years), a player with as much NFL experience as Daniel provides a different dynamic.

Daniel’s also glad to be around a peer, after shepherding Carson Wentz and Mitchell Trubisky around in recent years.

“The veteran-to-veteran status is something I was sort of wanting,” Daniel said when he signed with Detroit. “With me and Matthew, we have a history. It’s not like I’m coming in to be a mentor. Matthew’s one of the best players in the game. It’ll be fun to work side by side with him.”

And no offense to Daniel’s ringside seats to a lot of great offenses (working with Andy Reid and Sean Payton), the hope for the Lions is that Daniel doesn’t add to his five career starts.