At 3-4 on the season and coming off a blowout loss, the Detroit Lions are in a must-win situation against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Unfortunately, it appears that embattled head coach Matt Patricia and Co. will be without quarterback Matthew Stafford.
The Lions announced on Wednesday that Stafford has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
This means that Stafford has either tested positive for COVID-19 or has come into close contact with someone who has contracted the virus.
Impact of Lions placing Matthew Stafford on COVID-19 list
If, in fact, it is deemed that Stafford has been in close contact with a COVID-19 patient, he’s going to have to quarantine for five days. That obviously places the quarterback’s status for Week 9 into question.
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Remember, it was this past summer that Matthew Stafford received a false positive test. That led to the NFL changing its COVID-19 testing policy. There’s no telling whether Stafford has tested positive or has simply been in close contact with someone who has the virus. The Lions are not differentiating between the two in their announcement.
If Stafford is unable to go, Chase Daniel will get the start against Minnesota. He’s started a total of five games since entering the league back in 2010.
As for Stafford, he has the Lions in playoff contention during what has been a solid year for the Pro Bowl quarterback. The former No. 1 overall pick is completing 61.4% of his passes for 1,916 yards with 13 touchdowns and just five interceptions in seven starts this season.
This news comes on the heels of the Lions placing linebacker Jarrad Davis on the reserve/COVID-19 list. It also comes with multiple NFL teams dealing with outbreaks of the virus amid an uptick in cases around the United States. Obviously, this is not great news for the league.