Staley Da Bear
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- Mar 16, 2019
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A fluid situation: Lions quarterback Jeff Driskel, who replaced the injured Matthew Stafford as the team’s starter three weeks ago, was limited in practice again Tuesday with a sore hamstring he sustained in Sunday’s road loss to the Redskins.
Asked about Driskel’s potential availability Thursday against the Bears, Lions coach Matt Patricia said: “It really is day-by-day for us because of [the] short week.”
With Stafford still sidelined with broken bones in his back, the only healthy Lions quarterback is rookie David Blough. Blough signed with the Browns as an undrafted free agent this year and was traded to the Lions Aug. 30. He appeared in 43 games with 36 starts the past four seasons at Purdue, passing for 9,550 yards with 64 touchdowns and 41 interceptions. He has yet to play in an NFL regular-season game.
The Bears expect Driskel to start but are also preparing for Blough. The last time the two teams played Nov. 10 at Soldier Field, an injured Stafford was scratched the morning of the game in favor of Driskel, who completed 27 of 46 passes for 269 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a 73.6 passer rating in a 20-13 Bears victory.
“We’re planning on Driskel going,” Pagano said. “I think we all understand and know why he made the injury report. He played the whole game. Our advanced scouting watched the whole game. They were there. They saw him pre-game. They saw him post. This, that and the other. We’ve looked at the other guy. It’s like the first game. They trotted No. 2 out there and we had to line up and play against him. We’ll show our guys enough tape on the other guy and make sure we’re ready for whoever lines up there.”
Injury update: The Bears are dealing with some injuries of their own. For the second straight day Tuesday, players who did not practice included tight ends Ben Braunecker (concussion) and Adam Shaheen (foot), receiver Taylor Gabriel (concussion), right tackle Bobby Massie (ankle), linebacker Danny Trevathan (elbow) and defensive back Sherrick McManis (groin).
Braunecker and Gabriel both suffered concussions in Sunday’s win over the Giants. Asked whether they’ll be able to play against the Lions, coach Matt Nagy said: “It would probably be a stretch with both of them. They’re in the protocol, so we’re kind of taking it day-by-day.”
This is the second concussion that Gabriel has sustained this season.
“Any time you deal with the word concussion it’s always a concern,” Nagy said. “When you deal with multiples, you just hope that these guys are OK. It’s a violent game. You want to make sure that whatever you’re doing that they’re taken care of health-wise.”