NFL Examining Lions Handling of Matthew Stafford Injury [Report]

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Matthew Stafford’s injury trouble seemed to appear late last week and the Detroit Lions will now be the subject of a league investigation as it relates to the timeline of the events.

According to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein, the NFL is going to take a closer look at the circumstances of Stafford’s injury and what the team reported as well as knew. Cases have differed from person to person in terms of an official account of when the team knew Stafford couldn’t go and the specifics behind the decision to list him as questionable on the injury report Friday, then shut Stafford down by Sunday morning.

Here’s a look at what Rothstein wrote regarding what the NFL said, what they plan to look into and why:

“We’ll look into it and gather all the facts,” a league source told ESPN. “As is standard in situations like this.”

Detroit had listed Stafford as limited in practice all week and then listed him as questionable on the injury report Friday. Here’s where it then got a little bit dicey. Media reports started to surface Saturday saying Stafford would be a game-time decision and then by Sunday morning, those same reports said he would be ruled out — ending a 136-game starting streak that had been the second-longest active streak among quarterbacks.

Lions general manager Bob Quinn said on Sundy that Stafford suffered the injury late in Detroit’s Week 9 loss to Oakland. However, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter the injury dates back to last season, when Stafford played through the pain and didn’t miss a game.

In the postgame, multiple players told ESPN and other outlets that they were informed at various points Saturday that Stafford would be unable to play.”

Basically, there is plenty up in the air in terms of what the Lions knew, when they knew it and what they chose to say and not say about the injury. That will come into focus as the league takes a closer look at how everything went down, as Rothstein says.

The league has looked at other such issues in the past, getting involved with the Steelers in terms of reporting on Ben Roethlisberger’s injury status as well as Miami in the case of former quarterback Ryan Tannehill last season. In the case of Roethlisberger, Mike Tomlin and the organization were each levied a fine for not properly disclosing the quarterback’s injury.

Doctors Chime in on Matthew Stafford’s Injury

As usual, a solid answer as it relates to what actually could ail Stafford has come in from former NFL doctor David J. Chao.

According to Chao, after looking at video of the purported injury, what Stafford is facing is a short term painful injury, albeit something which is not long term, nor has any immediate impacts on the spinal cord. That’s good news not simply for Stafford the player, but Stafford the person.

That opinion was shared by a personality who does injury analysis for Boston Sports Journal, who referred to the injury as acute rather than chronic stress, which could set the table for a quicker recovery.

For the time being, it looks as if the Lions and Stafford may have dodged a more serious bullet.

Matthew Stafford’s Injury Timeline

After Stafford was revealed to be sidelined with the ailment, ESPN’s Adam Schefter explained that while the injury could be shorter term in nature, the likelihood is that it would be a week by week thing the Lions would have to watch. Here’s a look at what he wrote:

“Stafford is now considered week-to-week with an injury that one source said could sideline him for “this week or 3 weeks.” Stafford had started 136 consecutive regular-season games entering Sunday, the sixth-longest streak for a quarterback in NFL history.”

Before the injury, Stafford was rolling along and having an MVP caliber season. Safe to say that all of this puts a major damper on that, no matter how much time Stafford is to miss. Stafford is a warrior however, and has never been shy about trying to play in the past through the pain.

Obviously, the major hurdle for him moving forward will be finding a way to get cleared by the medical staff for any type of return in the month of November with this news. This could have Stafford on track to miss games through Thanksgiving for the Lions, unless he can heal up any quicker.

The timeline presented by Schefter certainly jibes with what the internet doctors have said they see thus far.

Regardless, it will be fascinating to see what the league uncovers in terms of the investigation regarding how everything went down in this case.

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