Lions could be down to just QB Blough vs. Bears - 3 minutes read


ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Detroit Lions are dealing with quarterback injuries that leave them with one healthy quarterback -- undrafted rookie David Blough -- leading into their Thanksgiving Day game against Chicago.

Starter Matthew Stafford has been out since Nov. 10 with broken bones in his back, and coach Matt Patricia said his status hasn't changed.

Stafford's replacement, Jeff Driskel, showed up on Monday's injury report with a hamstring injury. Driskel was limited in Tuesday's practice, as were defensive end Trey Flowers (concussion) and tight end T.J. Hockenson (shoulder).

"It's definitely gotten better each and every day," Driskel said of his hamstring. "That's just a testament to the guys in the training room -- all of those guys that are here all hours of the day working with us."

When asked whether he anticipated Driskel being available against the Bears on Thursday, Patricia said, "It really is day-by-day for us because of [the] short week."

Patricia said that if the Lions were going through a full practice instead of a walk-through Tuesday, he's not sure how much Driskel would have been able to do. He said he can stay in the pocket without a problem, but the Lions would have to try to "build around" other issues.

"He's pretty sore still today," Patricia said. "We were talking about it this morning, but he's walking around better, which is good. Ran a lot on Sunday. Talked to him and just kind of get a gauge for how he feels. Be a good day for us, from that standpoint, from a mental prep to just kind of go through communication and calls.

"Our offense has quite a bit of verbiage with it, too, so just kind of getting the calls out, getting used to some of the calls and making sure that everybody in the huddle hears it correctly."

Patricia said Blough has "absolutely" received first-team reps this week and that the franchise has worked him in before during certain team periods to help get him acclimated. He said they are preparing as if both Blough and Driskel would be available.

If the Lions were in a pinch and needed another quarterback, Patricia said the club has "a couple emergencies out there." Tight end Logan Thomas began his NFL career as a quarterback in Arizona after playing the position in college at Virginia Tech.

When asked about the team's interest in free agent Colin Kaepernick, he said again that the club attended his workout earlier this month in Georgia, but he wouldn't expand on the team's interest in him. Detroit had inquired about veteran Josh Johnson, whom the Lions cut in favor of Driskel in September, but Johnson is signed with the XFL and Patricia was "not really sure the details of what happened with that."

The Lions have lost seven of their past eight games, including all three starts Driskel has made at quarterback.