ALLEN PARK -- Backup quarterbacks don't typically draw much attention, but Detroit's Jake Rudock is getting plenty of it for all the right reasons.

Aside from some hiccups in the second week of the preseason, he's played well, completing 66 percent of his passes for three touchdowns, one pick and a passer rating of 99.5. And don't look now, he's also gained 51 yards on four scrambles.

That's enough to make him Detroit's third-leading rusher, and his 12.8 yards a pop is a team high.

A sixth-round pick one year ago, NFL Network is saying he's now "drawing interest from GMs" in a potential trade.

"I heard that from someone," Rudock said. "I'm like, 'I don't know what the hell you guys are talking about.' I just heard someone say it. They were cracking a joke."

At which point, Rudock swiped his hand through the air.

"I was like, 'I've got to worry about what I've got to do in the next 20 minutes out in this practice,'" he said. "I guess that's good. I don't know enough about, I mean, I'm sure coach will have his answers for that. But I don't think I'm going to touch it at all."

Then a reporter asked if Rudock thought one first-round pick would be enough to get him. (For those without a sense of humor, it was clearly a joke.)

"Golly," Rudock actually said in 2017.

"Did you say 'F' you?" a confused reporter asked.

"I said 'Golly,' are you serious?" Rudock said. "Now is that what I wanted to say? Maybe not. But you got to chill man, with all this. You got to chill."

OK. But seriously Jake, is one first-round pick enough for a man of your talents?

"I'm just going to say no comment," Rudock said. "I know the rules. I can tell you you can't print that, and you can't, by law. I know the rules. I dated a girl who was in journalism. Off the record doesn't mean anything. If I say you can't say any of this, you actually can't.

"Supreme Court! Let's roll! I'm ready! My dad's a lawyer. Let's roll. Let's tango."

If Rudock can evade a defense like he side-steps a question, Canton might as well start casting his bust now. The quarterback is known in the locker room for his quick wit, dry as it may be, and it was in fine form Tuesday as he fielded questions about the trade rumors, as well as Matthew Stafford's record contract, what it was like to meet Tom Brady, and Matthew Stafford's record contract.

Rudock completed 10 of 13 passes for 113 yards and one touchdown against the Patriots last week, then met the other former Michigan QB after the game.

"Our paths have crossed a lot, but never actually got a chance to meet each other -- or rather, me meet him, let's be real," he said. "I wasn't star struck, but it was nice to finally meet him. I've been in rooms with him before -- big rooms -- but it was just really cool to shake his hand.

"What's that one movie -- 'Ocean's 12?' -- where it was like, 'I shook Sinatra's hand!' It was cool to say you shook Sinatra's hand. It was cool to say you shook Tom Brady's hand."

True. But in this case, Sinatra knew who you were. Cool, right?

"I guess he knew my name," Rudock said. "'Hey Jake, how you doing? What's up!' I was like, 'Tom? Mr. Brady? I don't know what to call you.' I didn't actually say that, but (I did) in my head."

Tom Brady hasn't always been Tom Brady, you know. You ever think about whether you could do what he's done?

"He was actually always Tom Brady," Rudock said helpfully. "Since his mother game him the name, and father, he's been Tom Brady."

Thanks. But, you know, he went to Michigan and you went to Michigan. He was a sixth-round pick and you were a sixth-round pick. Have you ever thought of that?

"Yeah, I've thought about it, because the first time I talked to you after I got drafted, it was, like, the second question," Rudock said. "There's parallels and all that, but I'm nowhere near that guy. I'm just trying to play football, make good reads, make smart decisions."

Rudock's been doing that lately, although as long as things go the Lions' way, he won't be seeing the field anytime soon. Detroit has locked in Stafford through 2022 with a megadeal that averages an NFL-record $27 million annually.

"(One reporter thought) he had fricking hundreds coming out of his pants," Rudock mused. "No, he's the same guy. Same guy. He was in here, getting his work in, lifting. It was good stuff."

And when is Rudock going to sign his $135 million deal?

"Well I did play the power ball this week," he said. "I think I won $2, maybe."

Fun stuff. Same time next week, Jake?

"God," he said, "I hope not."