The Detroit Lions didn’t know specifically what they were dealing with in terms of Matthew Stafford’s injury, but it’s become clear the team has a tough situation on their hands.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Stafford is dealing with a rib cartilage injury. The injury isn’t likely to go away fast even as the team wants to watch and see how Stafford manages to deal with the ailment this week. That type of injury would explain why the quarterback’s x-rays were negative, yet Stafford remained in tons of pain.
It’s a tough injury for the Lions to deal with, and it seems like Stafford will be stricken with pain over the ailment for the rest of the season with this news in mind. The hope is he can be healthy first and foremost no matter what his game status ends up being this week and moving forward.
Chase Daniel Will Be Ready for Lions
If there’s good news from this situation, it’s that Detroit will be temporarily covered with Chase Daniel in the mix. The backup was signed for situations just like this, and the expectation is that if Stafford cannot go, Daniel will be able to enter the mix and lead the offense. Whether or not he has success is anyone’s guess, but this week, Daniel should be prepared to play rather than getting thrown in like he did on Sunday when Stafford got hurt.
Likely, based on Stafford’s injury and the updates, it seems as if Daniel will be the one leading the offense. Stafford is as tough as they come, but will he be able to shake this injury off in time? If not, Daniel will give the Lions a pretty soft landing this week.
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 the game.
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Specifics of Matthew Stafford’s Rib Injury Finally Revealed