HOUSTON – Matthew Stafford recalled his rookie year in 2009 when his Detroit Lions faced Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings and how special that interaction was.
Fifteen seasons later, Stafford finds himself experiencing it again, and viewed in the same light – this time by the incoming generation of young quarterbacks like second-year Texans passer C.J. Stroud and Bears rookie Caleb Williams.
"It's humbling," Stafford said after Thursday's joint practice with the Texans. "I remember being in their shoes thinking the same thing about [Hall of Fame QB] Brett Favre and [Hall of Fame QB] Peyton Manning when I got to go against those guys at the beginning of my career. I'm not putting myself in that same breath, but the older guys. It was a really cool experience. I'll never forget playing Brett when he was in Minnesota and I was in Detroit, and he came up to me and was like, 'Hey man, I'm a big fan.' I'm like, 'You can't say that to me, right? I'm the fan of you. I've been watching you play for forever.' So it is cool. It's humbling that these guys are paying attention and as big of fans as they might be of me, I wish nothing but the best for those guys."
Stroud made waves earlier this summer for defending and speaking highly of Stafford during an appearance on the "Million Dollaz Worth of Game" podcast, noting elements of his own skillset that he patterned after Stafford.
"Stafford, he's another one. He might be up there with (Tom) Brady and them," Stroud said on the podcast. "No, that's crazy. That's crazy. Let me go back. I'm a student of the game. Stafford's a dog. He's a dog. You don't understand. You're saying that. That's all I watch. I don't watch nobody else. I watch Mahomes at times because Mahomes does some stuff that you can't coach. Stafford, dog. He will beat you with the same thing every time. All that no-look stuff, I got that from (him). That's one of my biggest – like, I'm a fan of his."
The two had the chance to chat after Thursday's practice, and Stroud took advantage by asking Stafford several questions. Asked what he respects most about Stafford's game, Stroud listed off his toughness, how he manipulates defenders with his eyes, his dropbacks and his ability to change his arm angles on throws.
"I wasn't trying to be a fanboy or nothing," Stroud said with a smile. "I just asked a lot of questions. I tried to just learn, and he was really honest with me and wasn't mean, which I appreciate, so I am definitely a huge fan of his. Definitely one of my favorite quarterbacks of all time. I feel like sharing a field with him was dope."
Williams, meanwhile, told Kay Adams on the Up and Adams Show that he regarded Stafford as one of the top two QBs in the league currently and that he wasn't happy with where Stafford was ranked on this year's peer-voted NFL Top 100 Players list. Like Stroud, Williams also tries to mimic parts of Stafford's game.
The Bears will host the Rams at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sept. 29.
"There's a couple plays where he'll get a play action, he has the (line)backer on a string, he wants the backer to go here, he'll go there, he'll throw it right behind his head with perfect touch, perfect velocity," Williams said. "I was not happy about (his NFL Top 100 ranking). I don't think I can name two quarterbacks that play the position better than Matthew Stafford."
As those players embark on their own NFL careers, Stafford will be following them just like Favre followed him.
"This position is hard. It's humbling. It's difficult. There are ups [and] there are downs," Stafford said. "Guys that play this position for a long time know you have to stick together and pull for each other so I'm pulling for those guys."
