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ALLEN PARK, Michigan – Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans, and center Frank Ragnow has been demoted.
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 did not train on Wednesday or Thursday and was not seen training during the Friday training portion which was open to media. It was listed as doing limited work.
Interim coach Darrell Bevell said the Lions would take Stafford’s injury until the end of the week and travel to Tennessee.
“It may or may not be a training situation,” Bevell said. “Obviously the conversation about what he’s doing sort of on the side before it even gets to that. But if we have to practice Sunday morning then we’ll end up doing that too.”
Bevell said Stafford is feeling and moving better and it’s hard to judge what that means due to how tough he is. Stafford said on Wednesday that for him the biggest part of whether he will play is whether he can pitch and whether he thinks his body will be able to handle an entire game.
“I don’t want this to be one of those things where you go out there and do something weird early on and you come out after the game’s first round or something,” Stafford said. “Not to say, take a big hit and who knows what might happen. [I] want to feel good enough that they can start the game and hopefully be able to finish it as well. Play at a high level.
“All of these things are must-haves, and we’ll see if we can get there by the end of the week.”
Stafford said his regimen for trying to improve consisted of heat, ice, rest and movement. He wasn’t sure, as of Wednesday, if he would need some extra padding or an extra wrap on his ribs if he played – although he joked that he “would stick a pillow to. my ribs or something like that “.
If Stafford is unable to play, Chase Daniel should start.
Ragnow was told not to speak on Wednesday or Thursday to rest his vocal cords after suffering a vocal cord contusion as part of his broken throat. He visited a specialist on Friday to get an update.
He did not practice on Friday, and while he was initially considered questionable for the game, the Lions subsequently demoted him.
Ragnow has been around the facility all week, either writing down answers or asking his teammates and coaches to ask him questions that he could answer with a thumbs up or a thumbs down or a nod or a shake. of the head. Ragnow’s ability to breathe or eat was not compromised by the injury.
“I know we’ve gone from our squad to the specialist, and the specialist is really going to guide us on that information and if it’s safe for him to come back into the game,” Bevell said before Ragnow was sent off. “I can tell you we’re not going to kick him out if he’s not sure.”
“We don’t want long repercussions for him down the road, and I don’t think he would either. So we’ll take the information we get from the specialist and continue with that.”
With Ragnow out, there is a chance that rookie goalie Jonah Jackson slips to center and Joe Dahl will enter the roster at guard – the position he was playing before losing his job mid-season. Detroit could also play Dahl in the middle if needed.
Rookie defensive tackle John Penisini (shoulder) is questionable, and four Lions players are missing: 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 troubles at the cornerback, where only Amani Oruwariye and Justin Coleman remain healthy among the team’s first five corners.
Golladay misses his seventh game in a row with a hip flexor that didn’t heal as quickly as he would have hoped. Speaking to reporters for the first time since his injury, Golladay dismissed the idea that his absence had anything to do with his contract as he made his way to free will. He said the injury, which he described as “muscle tension,” had been altered, keeping him longer.
“Of course I want to be there on the pitch. Even when I was going there [for practice]I of course thought I was ready or I wouldn’t have gone there, “Golladay said.” And yes, it clearly wasn’t ready yet, to be honest.
“It sucks, really. But I mean, I have to be smart with my body.”
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