ALLEN PARK, Michigan – Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans, and center Frank Ragnow has been relegated to off.
Both players were injured in last weekend’s loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Stafford sustained a rib cartilage injury in the fourth quarter when he was hit by Kenny Clark and had to leave the game. He didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday and was not spotted during Friday’s practice portion that was open to the media. He was listed as doing limited work.
Interim coach Darrell Bevell said the Lions would reduce Stafford’s injury to the end of the week and that he will travel to Tennessee.
“This may or may not be a training situation,” Bevell said. Obviously, the conversation about what he’s doing is a little on the sidelines before we even get that far. But if we need training on Sunday morning, we will eventually do that. ‘
Bevell said Stafford is feeling and moving better and it’s hard to judge what that means because of his toughness. Stafford said on Wednesday that for him the bulk of the question of whether he will play is whether he can throw and whether he thinks his body can handle an entire game.
“I don’t want it to be one of those things where you go out and do something weird early and you’re out after the first series of the game or something,” Stafford said. Not to say take a big hit and who knows what could happen. But [I] wanting to feel good enough to start and hopefully finish the game. Play at a high level.
“All those things are kind of a must, and we’ll see if we can get there by the end of the week.”
Stafford said his regimen for getting better consisted of heat, ice, rest, and exercise. He wasn’t sure as of Wednesday if he’d need extra padding or an extra wrap around his ribs when he played – though he joked that he’d ‘stick a pillow to my ribs or something’.
If Stafford can’t play, Chase should start Daniel.
Ragnow was told not to speak on Wednesday or Thursday to rest his vocal cords after sustaining a vocal cord contusion as part of his broken throat injury. He visited a specialist on Friday to get an update.
He didn’t practice on Friday, and while he was initially listed as doubtful for the game, the Lions later lowered him to out.
Ragnow has been at the facility all week, either writing down answers or having teammates and coaches ask him questions he could answer with a thumbs up or down, or a nod or shaking head. Ragnow’s ability to breathe or eat was not affected by the injury.
“I know we’ve gone from our people to the specialist, and the specialist will really guide us with that information and whether it’s safe for him to get back into the game,” said Bevell before Ragnow was ruled out. ‘I can tell you we won’t put him out there if it’s not safe.
“We don’t want long-term consequences for him on the road, and I don’t think he would. So we’ll take the information we get from the specialist and move on with it.”
With Ragnow out, it’s possible that rookie guard Jonah Jackson will move to the center and Joe Dahl will join the line-up as a guard – the position he played before losing his job mid-season. Detroit could also play Dahl in the middle if needed.
Beginner defensive tackle John Penisini (shoulder) is questionable, and four Lions players are out: right tackle Tyrell Crosby (ankle), defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand (ankle), cornerback Darryl Roberts (hip) and wide receiver Kenny Golladay (hip) .
Roberts’ injury continues Detroit’s problems at cornerback, with only Amani Oruwariye and Justin Coleman remaining healthy in the team’s top five corners.
Golladay misses his seventh game in a row with a hip flexor that hasn’t healed as quickly as he’d hoped. Speaking to reporters for the first time since his injury, Golladay shot down the idea that his absence has something to do with his contract while on his way to free agency. He said the injury, which he described as a “ muscle strain, ” was pinched, keeping him out longer.
“Sure, I want to be there on the field. Even if I went there [for practice]”I certainly thought I was ready or I wouldn’t have gone there,” said Golladay. And yes, it clearly wasn’t done yet, to be honest.
‘It’s really worthless. But I mean, I have to be smart with my body. ‘