Early Sunday morning injury reports from ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport indicate that Matthew Stafford (hip) is expected to play, while Darius Slay (hamstring) and Danny Amendola (chest) should be game-time decisions.
Per Schefter, Stafford “is dealing with a lot of hip pain, per sources. The pain got worse as the week went on. As one source said: ‘This is the closest he’s probably been to not playing, but he’s planning on going.'”
Schefter’s ESPN co-worker “Dan Graziano (reported) that Stafford’s issue is actually with his back; he has had problems with it in the past and it flared up again this week,” per an article from ESPN’s Lions beat writer Michael Rothstein. Graziano also said he expected Stafford to play.
Regardless of if Stafford’s injury is to his back or hip, the bottom line is he is expected to play — although it will be through some discomfort, which still raises some concerns.
The Lions haven’t allowed a sack on Stafford in the previous two games and the offensive line will have to continue to be sharp in pass protection. Keeping Stafford upright just became a more pressing priority.
Hamstrings are tricky and the Lions exercised caution with Slay all week. He dressed for every practice but was limited in his levels of participation allowing him to rest and not risking a re-tweak of his injury.
A game-time decision has been the expectation all week, but Schefter’s report of “pessimism surrounding his availability” is new information. If Slay is not able to play, expect Mike Ford to be elevated back into the starting lineup.
Behind closed doors, the Lions have appeared optimistic about Amendola’s availability to play today, but they are conscious that he is also a true game-time decision. The team promoted Tom Kennedy from the practice squad this week as insurance and he would likely be activated in the slot is Amendola can’t go.
