Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is working through options on what _ if anything _ to wear on his dislocated middle finger for Sunday's game against the New York Giants. For now, the glove of choice appears to be a mostly fingerless one that helps him grip the football.
Stafford wore a black glove on his right hand during Wednesday's practice. It exposed his thumb, index, ring and pinkie fingers.
A portion of the glove was visible on the bottom of Stafford's middle finger, though it's unclear whether the entire finger was covered.
The top of Stafford's right middle finger, which he injured in last weekend's 20-17 win over the Chicago Bears, appeared to be taped in the same manner as when he held his weekly news conference before practice.
Stafford said at that time that he was still deciding what support he needed to wear on the finger during this weekend's game.
"I'm going to try to prepare throughout the week like it's a game," Stafford said. "Whether that's a glove or not, I'm still working on it. But whatever I end up doing in the game will not just be a guess, it'll be something I've worked on."
Stafford said on "The Mitch Albom Show" on WJR-AM (760) on Monday that wearing a glove helped him grip the football after he injured his finger when he hit hands with Bears linebacker Leonard Floyd on the final play of the first quarter.
The injury left Stafford lacking both velocity and control of the football, and the Lions attempted just 12 passes in the second half of the game.
"It's such a feel and a feel throwing the ball, I think that's probably just the biggest thing (that was missing)," Stafford said on WJR. "Yeah, there's velocity and grip and being able to spin it in a spiral and all that kind of stuff, but it's just a feel game. There's those finite little details you can put on the ball that you don't even think about. So anytime they're a little bit off, it's a little bit more difficult. But nothing I can't get through."
During the media viewing window of practice today, which was limited to position drills and some throwing to receivers, Stafford did not show any ill effects from the injury. He said he believes he will "continue to get better" as the week goes on.
Stafford said he does not believe he'll need surgery on his finger after the season, and he said there's still a chance that he plays without a glove Sunday.
The Giants rank seventh in the NFL in scoring defense, are tied for seventh in interceptions and, at 9-4, can lock up a playoff spot with a win over the Lions and losses or ties by three other wild-card contenders.
"It's not really for my state of mind, it's for what's going to be most functional," Stafford said. "So whatever's most functional that I can perform the best with, that's what I'll go for."
