Matthew Stafford is such a good teammate, he found time to text the Lions' #1 draft pick on Thursday evening ... while still comforting his wife who's ailing from brain surgery.
We spoke with T.J. Hockenson early Friday morning on his way out of Nashville, where the tight end told us how excited he was to start his pro career in Detroit.
But the most interesting part involved Stafford ... whose wife Kelly underwent a 12 hour procedure Sunday to remove a tumor from her brain. She was readmitted to the hospital due to complications from the surgery earlier this week.