Getty Matthew Stafford on the field before a game late in 2019.
The Detroit Lions had a major goal this offseason, and it was to get quarterback Matthew Stafford completely healthy off of a back injury.
It appears that goal has been achieved according to Kelly Stafford. Buried in a more important Instagram update, Stafford said that her husband’s back, which had been troubling him since the middle of the season, has been healthy since January. That’s according to what he was told by doctors.
Stafford, of course, missed most of the second half of Detroit’s season with the injury, and the Lions effectively shut him down for the rest of the year to their detriment, as they finished a miserable 3-12-1. That patience, though, will pay off if the team gets Stafford back healthy in 2020, which is now the expectation.
While trade rumors have swirled in recent weeks, it doesn’t seem realistic to expect the team to move on from Stafford if they are convinced he is completely healthy. Stafford himself is said to desire staying long-term in Detroit.
Matthew Stafford’s Initial Timetable
After Stafford was revealed to be sidelined with the ailment in early November, 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.
Previously, Chao had said after looking at video of the purported injury, what Stafford is facing is a short term painful injury. Still, it’s not something which is 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.
Obviously, with news that the injury is healed, it looks like this diagnosis was spot on for the team.
Matthew Stafford’s Injury
Listed on the report with a hip and back ailment, Stafford picked up the back injury while playing the Oakland Raiders. The hip trouble had been lingering since the Kansas City game, but Stafford had found a way to play through the pain of that, and actually looked better on the injury report in the weeks after. The back injury limited him in practice most of the week leading up to the Chicago game, casting doubt on whether he’d actually play. Reports in the hours before hinted Stafford could be in trouble, and the decision was quickly made to sit him down on Sunday morning ahead of the game against the Bears.
Late during the 2018 season, Stafford dealt with broken bones in his back as well and played through the pain, and the back injury in consecutive seasons has become a troubling trend for the quarterback. With the Lions depending on Stafford in not just the present but the future, they will have to hope the signal caller doesn’t see another similar injury.
For now, it sounds as if Stafford is a full go for the Lions in 2020.
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