Getty Matthew Stafford reaches for his ribs after a hit against Green Bay.
Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has dealt with a lot this season, and now he has a potential lingering rib injury to add to the mix.
Stafford was rocked on a hit late in Detroit’s 31-24 defeat to the Green Bay Packers, and did not finish the game. He went for x-rays immediately after the contest and no news arose on that front until Monday afternoon.
According to Lions coach Darrell Bevell, x-rays were negative on the quarterback’s ribs, but Stafford is still dealing with pain on the left side.
Darrell Bevell said X-Rays were negative on Matthew Stafford when I asked if he broke any ribs.
Said his pain is on the left side.
— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) December 14, 2020
After the hit, Stafford looked to be in major discomfort and was removed from the game. Chase Daniel took over, and the Lions were not able to get a touchdown without Stafford in the game to make things interesting. Afterward, Stafford didn’t do his media interviews, which was a tell tale sign the quarterback was dealing with something serious.
The good news? Stafford’s x-rays are at least negative, but the quarterback is taking some severe punishment late in this season with his already dinged up thumb also giving him problems late this season. This rib ailment could certainly cost him some time.
Matthew Stafford’s Status for Sunday in Doubt
Even though Stafford has negative x-rays, that doesn’t mean the Lions are out of the woods on his status for this weekend’s game. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Stafford is in plenty of pain and seems more likely to miss Sunday’s game in Tennessee as a result of the injury.
From The Aftermath: #Lions QB Matthew Stafford’s status for this Sunday is in doubt.
Rapoport said:
“Matthew Stafford has not been ruled out for next week, so that is the good news. Still with a rib injury, extremely painful. From what I can tell he was in a ton of pain last night and today as well. So he hasn’t been ruled out. That is good. However, he is described as having an outside chance of being able to play Sunday. So there’s a real possibly we could see Chase Daniel in as starter, one of the better backups in the NFL, always ready. Also extremely rich because of the amount of money he has made as backup quarterback for this very situation. The Lions have a ton of confidence in him. It’s not definite that Stafford is going to miss the game, but it’s not looking great for this week for the Lions.”
The Lions have said they will play it by ear this week to see if Stafford can go, and this update would not seem to indicate a fast turnaround is likely. Still, Stafford is one of the toughest guys in the league, so nothing should be ruled out. At this point, however, it seems more likely that Stafford might miss.
Chase Daniel a Reliable Option for Lions
If there’s one situation Daniel was made for, it could be this one given his status as a stable veteran backup. The Lions brought him to town for this very reason, and he’s proven successful at delivering in a pinch. After playing college football at Missouri, Daniel came into the league as an undrafted free agent in 2009. His first stop was with the Washington Redskins, and from there, he moved onto the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears. In his career, the 33 year old Daniel has put up 7 touchdowns, 1,430 yards and made a total of 5 career starts. He’s been more known as a backup than anything else.
With the Bears, Daniel has made his biggest impact. He beat the Lions on Thanksgiving Day in 2018 when Mitch Trubisky couldn’t play, and seemingly, that’s just the type of game the Lions could ask him to win in the potential absence of their quarterback moving forward.
If Daniel has to start, it could prove to the Lions that investing in him was a smart move all along.
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