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John Niyo of the Detroit News reported today following Jim Schwartz' Monday presser that quarterback Matthew Stafford has suffered an AC joint sprain (separation).
If someone didn't see the play (thanks to a state-wide blackout), I highly suggest a trip over to NFL.com to see the replays. If you haven't even heard of what happened, I highly suggest coming out from the rock you're living under.
Stafford, on the second-to-last play, scrambled around for what seemed like somewhere between 20-30 minutes and eventually heaved the football toward the corner of the end zone. After he let go of the ball, Cleveland Browns lineman CJ Mosley went Jack Lambert on the Lions QB and sent him crashing to the turf.
Stafford came back into the game after an ill-advised Mangini timeout and threw a TD pass setting up a game winning extra point by Jason Hanson.
That you knew.
The severity of the injury may never be known.
When Matt Stafford crashed to the turf, his acromioclavicular joint—the only thing holding the arm bone to the rest of the skeleton—was injured, straining the three ligaments holding everything together.
The injury is more of a dislocation than a sprain...sprain just sounds less serious.
How badly Stafford is injured has nothing to do with the words "AC joint sprain." The same label can be used for a minor injury that athletes play through all the time or a serious injury which costs athletes seasons and requires major surgery.
The off season surgery Brett Favre underwent this past year? AC Joint reconstruction.
The season ending surgery Sam Bradford is having? AC Joint reconstruction.
The injury can be categorized by three grades or six levels. Grade I-level one calls for rest, a sling, and some pain meds. Grade III-level six is rarely seen outside of car accidents and a lifetime of arthritis is likely.
If Matthew Stafford isn't on the IR in the near future, it can be reasonably assumed that he has a Grade I sprain. The symptoms are pain, tenderness, swelling, loss of arm motion.
Remember, this is his non-throwing shoulder.
Pain and tenderness? Ibuprofen.
Swelling? Cortisone
Loss of arm motion? A brace under his shoulder pads.
If Thursday rolls around and team doctors are relatively sure further damage is unlikely, Matthew Stafford could play. If the Detroit Lions hope to beat the Green Bay Packers, they will need their quarterback.
However, if team doctors (or Stafford himself) are not sufficiently positive that Stafford would be safe from a re-injury or a complication of arthritis, don't expect the Detroit Lions to take a chance at wasting 30 million on one Turkey-day contest.
If Lions fans have learned anything about the Coach Schwartz regime, he won't be providing any answers.
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