Bob Quinn said something at his end-of-season news conference that has been on my mind for a couple weeks now, something he repeated, in essence, in an interview with SiriusXM NFL radio this week.

“This guy’s a really talented player,” Quinn said earlier this month. “And myself, the coaches need to put him in better situations to allow him to use his skill set.”

No one will argue that the Detroit Lions must do a better job of stocking their cupboards with the ingredients they need to become a perennial playoff power.

They need an offense more tailored to Matthew Stafford’s strengths, a couple reliable pass catchers for him to throw to, a backup running back in case Kerryon Johnson gets hurt again, better play from their offensive line and two or three playmakers on defense.

That’s a song and dance we’ve heard for years now, with the names, faces and promises changing by the season but the results largely staying the same.

That’s also the rub the Lions and most of the rest of the NFL face, with quarterbacks commanding a huge chunk of the salary cap — about 15 percent in Stafford’s case — and only so much money to spend on upgrades elsewhere.

It’s no surprise that most of the best teams in the NFL this year had quarterbacks playing on below-market deals. In fact, just four of the 12 teams that made the playoffs had quarterbacks who average more than $20 million a season on their current contract, and no quarterback making that much has ever won a Super Bowl.

Seven of this year’s playoff quarterbacks average less than $8 million annually, and the teams playing in Atlanta next week, the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams, have quarterbacks making $15 million (Tom Brady) and $7 million (Jared Goff), respectively.

Hate his greatness all you want, but Brady has long taken below-market deals that enable the Patriots to afford a better supporting cast even if the franchise is notoriously frugal with its veterans.

Goff, the No. 1 pick of the 2016 draft, is the 26th-highest paid quarterback in the NFL on an average-annual-salary basis. And if you don’t think that matters, consider the difference between Goff’s cap number this year ($7.6 million) and Stafford’s ($26.5 million) is enough to afford frickin’ Aaron Donald (who has $17.1 million cap hit next year, in the first year of his new deal).

I don’t write this to bash Stafford, who averages $27 million annually on the contract he signed before the start of the 2017 season and probably deserves more for the pounding he took while playing for a trainwreck of a team this year. Yes, his back injury was worse than anyone let on, and, no, players didn’t have fun playing for Matt Patricia.

But it’s inarguable that life in the NFL is easier when you pay your quarterback less, if you have a functional quarterback, of course.

Since the Patriots dynasty started in 2001, 10 of 18 Super Bowl winners have either had Tom Brady under center, a quarterback on a rookie contract or both.

The 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers won with a discounted Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback. Two years later, the New York Giants and Eli Manning did the same. Joe Flacco (2012) and Russell Wilson (2013) led their teams to titles on rookie deals, and the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl last year with veteran Nick Foles at quarterback and Carson Wentz and his rookie deal on the bench.

This year, the teams with the five highest-paid quarterbacks — the Packers, Vikings, Lions, 49ers and Falcons — failed to make the playoffs, and lest you think that’s an anomaly, the teams with the four highest-paid QBs failed to reach the postseason in both 2016 and 2017.

I’ve long advocated paying good quarterbacks, including Stafford, what it takes to keep them around. Quarterback is the most important position on the field, the face of the franchise off it, and teams that swing and miss for one in the draft tend to keep taking cuts to the detriment of the organization.

But as we prepare for Super Bowl LIII next week and what will either be an extension of the Patriots dynasty or a torch-passing from the G.O.A.T to Goff, perhaps it’s time we re-examine the best way to build a contender.

Even the best quarterbacks need the right supporting cast, and writing the biggest check, it seems, is the best way to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Average annual salary of playoff QBs (rank among QBs), per Spotrac:

1. Saints: Drew Brees (tied-6th) $25 million: Lost in NFC title game

2. Colts: Andrew Luck (8th) $24.6 million: Lost in AFC divisional round

3. Ravens*: Joe Flacco (10th) $22.1 million: Lost in AFC wildcard round

4. Seahawks: Russell Wilson (11th) $21.9 million: Lost in NFC wildcard round

5. Chargers: Philip Rivers (14th) $20.8 million: Lost in AFC divisional round

6. Patriots: Tom Brady (21st) $15 million: Super Bowl

7. Bears: Mitchell Trubisky (25th) $7.3 million: Lost in NFC wildcard round

8. Rams: Jared Goff (26th) $7 million: Super Bowl

9. Eagles*: Carson Wentz (27th) $6.7 million: Lost in NFC divisional round

10. Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes (37th) $4.1 million: Lost in AFC title game

11. Texans: Deshaun Watson (39th) $3.5 million: Lost in AFC wildcard round

12. Cowboys: Dak Prescott (69th) $680,848: Lost in NFC divisional round

*Lamar Jackson, who ranks 44th among QBs with an average annual salary of $2.3 million, started for the Ravens in the playoffs, and Nick Foles, who ranks 31st with an average annual salary of $5.5 million, started for the Eagles

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!

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