Running back Ameer Abdullah, who signed to the Colts' practice squad on Sept. 8, is on his sixth team in his decade-long NFL career.

Prior to the Colts, Abdullah spent time with the San Francisco 49ers, Las Vegas Raiders, Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings and – this where we're going here – Detroit Lions. Abdullah played 35 games with the Lions from 2015-2018, where he had a window into what makes quarterback Matthew Stafford special.

And in his travels around the league, Abdullah has been consistently asked by coaches and teammates: What can you tell us about Stafford?

"I do get that question a lot, yeah, because from the outside looking in, he doesn't have social media," Abdullah said. "He's not a big rah rah in the media guy. So everyone's always kind of curious — there's a mystique to him. You don't always get access to him."

What Abdullah tells anyone who will listen: Stafford is an ultimate competitor. He's the "king of two minutes," Abdullah said, pointing to Stafford's 49 game-winning drives – the most of any active player (in fact, 13 more than fellow veteran Aaron Rodgers). And Stafford's ingenuity and willingness to try something no one else has before – those are things that set him apart beyond his top-level arm talent and processing ability.

"I knew Stafford was a Hall of Famer the minute I got on the field with him," Abdullah said.

Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter was Stafford's quarterbacks coach (2014-2015) and then offensive coordinator (2015-2018) with the Lions, too. When Cooter arrived in Detroit, Stafford had completed under 60 percent of his passes over his first five seasons since being taken No. 1 overall in 2009, with 109 touchdowns, 73 interceptions and a passer rating of 83.1. But Cooter quickly learned Stafford was a completely different quarterback than his numbers and reputation may have suggested.

"He was known as a gunslinger, but spend about five minutes with him in the meeting room – you can figure out he's really, really intelligent, really, really cerebral," Cooter said. "He loves football, loves the game and that's a pretty good combo. He's pretty talented as well. I think that goes without saying, but it's a great combo for a quarterback to sort of have."

Stafford has been referred to as "your favorite quarterback's favorite quarterback," a nod to his influence on young quarterbacks across the NFL. Abdullah pointed to some of the things league MVPs Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen have incorporated into their respective games, like changing arm angles in the pocket and – certainly for Mahomes – throwing remarkable no-look passes.

Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, by the way, said he'll "always be scarred" from Stafford's no-look completion to Cooper Kupp in Super Bowl LVI, which keyed the Rams' win over Anarumo's Cincinnati Bengals.

Anyways: Count Colts quarterback Daniel Jones among Stafford's admirers in the NFL.

"He's a fun guy to watch," Jones said. "I've always enjoyed watching his games, watching him play — he's extremely talented as a passer, can make any throw and makes it look easy. He has a really high football IQ. You can tell he knows where the ball's supposed to go and he does it, and he's been playing really well for a long time."

Colts head coach Shane Steichen, a former quarterback himself, echoed Jones' comments and pointed to Stafford's willingness to hang in the pocket and rip completions while under pressure.

"I think he's one of the best to ever do it," Steichen said. "He has a physicality about him — he's as tough as it gets. You see him taking shots, he gets up, he ain't coming out of the game. And that's respect there right away seeing that. He can make all the throws. He does a great job of seeing it. He makes some big plays with his arm. When you got a that's done it at a high level for a long time, he's seen a lot of different looks. Getting them in and out of the right plays is huge. He's been doing that for a long time. Just the utmost respect for him."

Stafford in 2025 has completed 63 of 95 passes (66.3 percent) for 739 yards (7.8 yards/attempt) with five touchdowns, two interceptions and a passer rating of 98.5. He has the fastest time to throw in the NFL at 2.53 seconds, but he's not constantly throwing short of the sticks – his average depth of target is 8.5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage (13th in the NFL), a sign he's pushing the ball vertically even while getting it out quick.

"I have the utmost respect for him," Anarumo said. "I think he's one of the better quarterbacks we've had in this generation of quarterbacks. He's got an unbelievable arm – unbelievable arm talent. As you mentioned, he's seen most things that you can throw at him. He manipulates the underneath coverage with little shoulder movements. ... He's just a guy that is as good as anybody that's ever done it and is certainly hard to fool. Matthew Stafford in my book, is a great, great player."

Stafford has only been a Pro Bowler twice in his career despite throwing for over 4,000 yards in nine of his 16 full seasons. He may not get the national attention guys with the last name Allen, Mahomes, Jackson, Burrow, Rodgers, etc. get, but ask just about anyone in any NFL building – including the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center – and you will only hear glowing comments about the 37-year-old veteran.

"Certain quarterbacks like watching certain guys and Stafford's always been a favorite of everybody to watch on TV," Cooter said. "Plays good ball, still playing good ball. Got a little more grey in his beard than he used to, but he's still ripping the ball around. ... A very, very highly respected player in this league and somebody – love to watch him play."