Early on in the week, it seemed unlikely that Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford would suit up against the Tennessee Titans in Week 15 due to a painful rib injury he was dealing with.
Stafford didn’t practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but he did get in a limited session on Friday and carries a questionable designation, giving hope that he could indeed take the field at Nissan Stadium versus the Titans.
Now it appears that Stafford, who is about as tough as they come at the quarterback position in the NFL, is likely to play on Sunday, according to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport:
In a dramatic turn, #Lions QB Matthew Stafford (ribs) is now preparing to play tomorrow vs the #Titans, sources say. What seemed improbable early on should be reality tomorrow. It’s why no one ever wants to rule him out…
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 19, 2020
This is obviously great news for the Lions, a team that is on the cusp of being eliminated from playoff contention and would have seen a major downgrade to its offense with Chase Daniel filling the void.
Tennessee’s secondary, which has been suspect at best all season but could see some reinforcements with Kristian Fulton likely to play and Adoree’ Jackson questionable, will get no reprieve against Detroit after all.