After leaving last week’s loss to the Ravens with a right hand injury, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is still dealing with the issue, which could affect his status for Detroit’s Week 14 matchup against the Buccaneers, as head coach Jim Caldwell told reporters, including Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
“We’ll kind of see what he can do as the week goes on,” Caldwell said. “It’s not like it’s an insignificant injury. That’s not the case. It’s something that he’s going to have to really work at and deal with here during the course of the week to see where he is. He’s not out of the woods.”
Initial reports suggested that while Stafford did not suffer a broken hand, he is hampered by “nerve-type damage.” Additionally, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) later indicated that Stafford is also dealing with bruising, which could theoretically affect his ability to hold the football.
If Stafford can’t play on Sunday, the Lions would turn to backup Jake Rudock, who has only attempted five career passes since entering the NFL in 2016. Detroit is nearing the end of its rope in terms of playoff odds, as FiveThirtyEight gives the club only a 10% chance of earning a postseason berth at present.
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