A few months ago, the Lions said repeatedly they were interested in acquiring a backup veteran quarterback.

Now that all the off-season workouts have been completed, it appears the Lions have put those plans on hold.

Some of that has to do with the progress of Drew Stanton, but most of it has to do with the development of rookie Matthew Stafford. The real issue here is what the Lions are looking for out of their No. 3 QB. Before and after the draft, the Lions talked about adding a veteran backup because they weren't sure how quickly Stafford would be ready. They didn't want to get into a situation where Daunte Culpepper would start the season and then get hurt and then be forced to go with a raw rookie.

That situation has changed. The Lions are now very confident that Stafford will be ready for the start of the regular season (I still think he'll be the starter against New Orleans - or very soon afterward). That changes the role at No. 3 because the Lions don't need an experienced player there.

With the Detroit Lions drafting quarterback Matthew Stafford with the first overall pick -- and investing $41.7 million in guaranteed money in him -- there is a perception that, at some point, owner William Clay Ford Sr. will order the coaching staff to play him in a game.

Ford is adamant that not only will that not happen, but it's never happened.

"I do not, contrary to public opinion, interfere with the football side of it,'' Ford said. "I mean, if so-and-so plays lousy, I'll say 'I think he's a bum.' But, no, I've never said, 'Play this guy or that guy' or "Don't play him.' No, these guys know more about the game than I do by 10 miles. I'm not going to try to second-guess them. Now, if it goes wrong, we'll talk about it.''

Lions rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford threw the best pass of the day, lofting a long bomb over the inside shoulder of receiver Calvin Johnson, who didn't break stride in catching the pass.

It has been two months since the Detroit Lions drafted QB Matthew Stafford with the first overall pick in the draft, and veteran QB Daunte Culpepper, who now sees his starting status in jeopardy, Daunte Culpepper is talking to the media.

At previous offseason workouts, Culpepper refused to speak.

"I'll talk at minicamp" is all he would say.

For a two-month buildup, though, Culpepper's comments hardly were controversial. If he holds any grudges toward the Lions or Stafford or anyone else, he is keeping them to himself.

"I had no control over that," Culpepper said of Stafford's arrival. "Since I've gotten to know him a little bit and we've been working, I think he's a great worker and it is what it is. You have to understand that my job is to be the best player I can be, and that's my focus right now. That's the approach I'm taking.

"I feel this is the first time I've been 100% (healthy) going into camp since 2004, so with that being said, I feel great. I'll continue to be the person I am and be the competitor I am. I'll continue to get better and better, and I felt better than I did in 2004. We'll see what happens."

Lions Coach Schwartz does not have a depth chart, nor does he plan to have one anytime soon. He said he would have one for the first exhibition, but only because he had to tell which players would play when.

Daunte Culpepper still looks excellent physically. He said he has been around 260 pounds -- more than 30 pounds less than he weighed last year -- and is 100% going into training camp for the first time since 2004, when he had the best year of his career and put up huge numbers for Minnesota.

As far as the competition between Culpepper and Matthew Stafford, the first pick in this year’s NFL draft, both players made some nice throws today and both had nice things to say about each other. Coach Jim Schwartz said no one would read too much into one practice.

With a big 6-foot-5 frame, a penchant for blocking and impressive hands, Pettigrew could be the complete tight end any team would treasure. During a recent Lions practice, first-round pick TE Brandon Pettigrew was a favorite target of QB Matthew Stafford's and the two seemed to work well together.

"It just happened like that," Pettigrew said. "I'm glad we're kind of getting a feel for each other and a good connection going into this thing and having a good relationship. That'll be good."

Pettigrew has been particularly impressed with Stafford's on-field maturity.

With the organized team activities finishing up this week, Lions QB Matthew Stafford has left an indelible impression on members of the franchise. He's still a rookie and he's still making mistakes, but the optimism continues to grow about the team's first overall draft choice. On the field, Stafford shows flashes of brilliance with his quick decision making, rapid release and arm strength. During Monday's workout, Stafford threw several impressive passes, including a downfield strike to rookie TE Brandon Pettigrew. Stafford made the toss as he faked a handoff and spun and threw deep in one motion. Lions coach Jim Schwartz is playing it coy about Stafford's progress and the early expectations. Schwartz said the Lions want their young players to get accustomed to their surroundings before the coaches start making any decisions.

Lions DE Eric Hicks had good things to say about rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford. "He's coming out here and working hard," Hicks said. "He's definitely living up to the hype, making good passes and showing his leadership out there with the second group." Daunte Culpepper still is getting the majority of reps with the first team, and Stafford appears to be the backup ahead of Drew Stanton. "Any time you have a high draft pick who enters the equation, it is going to change the dynamics," coach Jim Schwartz said. "Everybody in the locker room knows where the guy was picked. He knows. The city of Detroit knows."

The rookies reported back to Lions headquarters Monday. They will go through their first practice with the veterans today. Much media attention will be on how Matthew Stafford looks next to Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton. After rookie orientation May 3, GM Martin Mayhew gave his thoughts on why top QB prospects have failed in the past. "They get drafted early by teams that haven't been successful, and then they get rushed onto the field," Mayhew said. So how do the Lions break the pattern? They plan to play Stafford when he's ready and the best quarterback.

Going into the draft, several draft analysts said one of the biggest knocks on Georgia QB Matthew Stafford was his lack of accuracy, but Lions OC Linehan isn't buying it. Linehan said Stafford's numbers weren't as impressive because Georgia took more shots downfield in their passing attack. "It wasn't a dink-and-dunk deal and the reason they did that is because they could - he had the arm to do it,'' Linehan said. The numbers show that Stafford got better at those downfield throws throughout his college career. As a freshman, he completed 52.7% of his passes but his yards-per-attempt was just 6.83. Those numbers increased the following year to 55.7 and 7.25, respectively. Stafford made the biggest jump in his junior season - his final year in college - by completing 61.4% of his passes and his yards-per-attempt was 9.03. By the way, Mark Sanchez QBed the high-powered USC offense and his yards-per-attempt was 8.76. Linehan said that he and HC Jim Schwartz had a lot of discussions about Stafford prior to the draft.