Former Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford currently holds the sixth longest streak of consecutive starts in NFL history.
With 128 consecutive starts, Stafford has been known to play through injuries that would surely sideline most quarterbacks. And last season was no different. In week one, the Lions quarterback suffered a chest injury and then injured his pinky in week 11 against the Seahawks.
And towards the end of the season, Stafford faced his toughest injury of the year, reportedly suffering “tiny fractures” in his back, according to Ian Rapoport.
Detroit Lions reporter Mike O’Hara was the first to comment on Stafford’s injury during his most recent podcast.
“He is durable but does play with injuries. As it turns out, he had broken bones in his back,” O’Hara said.
Stafford was listed as questionable in weeks 14-16, but still managed to start in all three outings. Stafford threw for three touchdowns with no interceptions.
“[Stafford] had the back thing, and he went through numerous things where he wanted to play through it and our doctors said he could play through it,” general manager Bob Quinn said in January, via MLive.com. “He showed a lot of toughness. That’s a credit to him. That’s one thing I’ll never, ever question. This guy loves football, he’s competitive, he’s talented. We need to do a better job of putting better players around him and scheming up things better to use his talent.”
The first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft still has four years left on a five-year, $135 million contract.
