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Despite a hard-hitting battle in Week 10, the Detroit Lions emerged fairly healthy from their road battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
While few of the ailments seem long-term or season-ending, the team is in a holding pattern as it relates to quarterback Jared Goff. Goff was dinged-up with an oblique injury, but played through the pain on the field in the rain. There’s a question of whether or not that will play out again in Week 11.
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On Tuesday, November 16, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero reported that he believes practice this week will be vital for testing Goff out to see if he can play or not. With that in mind, Goff’s status will remain uncertain until the team can test him out.
“My understanding is, the Lions want to see how well Jared Goff can throw the football in practice on Wednesday. Can he throw with his core? If not, then the Lions would have to consider if they should start somebody else for a game or two,” Pelissero says in the video clip. “Remember, they got a short week upcoming because they go to Cleveland on Sunday, then turn around for the traditional home game on Thanksgiving against the Bears. If it’s not Goff, it would probably be David Blough, a Thanksgiving legend David Blough. Tim Boyle, the guy that was their backup coming in, a guy they brought over from Green Bay in free agency just returned to practice last week after a thumb injury in training camp. He’s still got a little ways to go.”
Given he finished the game, it would be surprising to see Goff not be able to play, but the team wants to make a sound medical decision. That’s good news as they try to chase their first win of the season. Stay tuned on this case for the team.
David Blough Likely to Start if Goff Can’t Play
If Goff doesn’t make it through practice this week, the next man up would be David Blough, who is currently the team’s backup at this point. Blough has plenty of NFL experience to rely on already. Following college, Blough was brought into the league by the Cleveland Browns after the 2018 NFL Draft. He was an undrafted free agent signing of the team and competed during the preseason and training camp to be on the roster. Prior to final cuts, he was traded to the Lions in exchange for a seventh round draft pick. In Detroit, Blough was the third string quarterback behind Jeff Driskel and Matthew Stafford, and probably never dreamed he’d get any shot at the NFL fast. When injury arose to both players ahead of him, it happened in 2019.
Since getting his big break, Blough played decently for the Lions, throwing for 862 yards, 4 touchdowns and 5 interceptions in the league. He wasn’t able to get the Lions over the top and win a game when he a starter, but he was also a third-string rookie quarterback thrown into the fire that was never expected to see the field so fast.
If Blough had to start, the Lions would at least have confidence knowing he’s done it before in the league.
Dan Campbell Dishes About Goff’s Injury Status
A big reason for a lot of the struggles of Goff this past weekend had to do with not only the sloppy conditions, but the oblique injury he sustained during the game. As the coach said, Goff still gave Detroit the best chance to win during the time and did not want to come out, thus he continued to play. Even though that might have seemed like a mistake, it was what played out in the end.
Speaking on Monday, Dan Campbell said that Goff was getting checked out, but he did not believe any of Detroit’s ailments were long-term in nature, including Goff.
“You know, I would say most of these guys really, we won’t know a lot but I can’t say anything looks long-term. I would say some of these aren’t as bad as they appeared. We’ll know more in a coupe of days but I feel like we may get out OK here,” Campbell admitted.
If Goff is healthy, fans can expect to see him on the field for the Lions again. It will be determined in practice whether that’s the case or not.
READ NEXT: Dan Campbell Explains Why Jared Goff Still Best Fit for Starter
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