Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford determined to play in finale: 'I want to be out there'

As Matthew Stafford hopped on one leg to the locker room with a sprained ankle in the first quarter of Saturday's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it never crossed his mind that he might have just played his final snap as a Detroit Lion.

Stafford said Monday that he made the unusual exit so he did not have to leave the field on a cart; more importantly, the quarterback is holding out hope that he can play in this week's season finale against the Minnesota Vikings.

"If the rest of me, if I’m good, I want to be out there," Stafford said. "I want to play, do everything I can to try and get there towards the end of the week, and we’re going to kind of have to figure it out as we go, day to day, just see how it responds to treatment and all that. But hopefully I can get it good enough to go and be out there."

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Stafford is dealing with a pair of injuries in addition to his right ankle sprain. He has partially torn ligaments in his throwing thumb that he said he does not think will require surgery after the season, and he is managing a painful rib injury that nearly kept him out of a loss two weeks ago against the Tennessee Titans.

At 5-10, the Lions have nothing but pride left to play for this week, but both Stafford and interim Lions head coach Darrell Bevell said the standings will not have any bearing on Stafford's availability.

"Obviously, it will be health-based," Bevell said. "We’re not going to put him out there if he can’t protect himself, or if he’s got a chance of something major happening from the injuries that he already has.

"But as I said, the guy’s tough as nails. The guy respects the game, he loves his teammates, he wants to be out there. Obviously, he gives us the best opportunity to be able to win a game when he is out there. I know he wants it. So those are all positive deals."

Stafford hurt his ankle on the Lions' third offensive play against the Bucs, when he stepped awkwardly while backpedaling to avoid a hit from Tampa Bay linebacker Devin White.

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Chase Daniel and David Blough played the rest of the game in Stafford's absence, and the Lions failed to score an touchdown on offense for the second time this season.

"I thought maybe I stepped on (White's) foot. It felt like that," Stafford said. "It just kind of rolled over the outside pretty aggressively, I guess, there for a second, and wasn’t really sure what was going on. Was able to stay in for the next play and thought I’d just go to the sideline and get maybe a little bit more tape on it, re-tape it up and go, and then I was having a lot of trouble putting weight on it."

While X-rays were negative and Stafford eventually returned to the sideline, he said his ankle "just really wasn’t in a good enough position to move around effectively and play."

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Whether it can get to that point in six days remains to be seen, but Stafford downplayed the notion that he should sit out to preserve his health ahead of an uncertain offseason.

The Lions have ongoing coach and general manager searches, and their new hires will decide whether to bring Stafford back for a 13th season in Detroit or start a total rebuild and trade him to a contender.

"I signed up to play this year and part of signing up is hopefully getting 16 chances at it, and hopefully more than that," Stafford said. "We obviously, are only getting 16 this year, but I signed up for it and so did my teammates so if I’m healthy enough to get out there and do it, I want to be out there. And I’ll figure out all the other stuff out when I’ve got time."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford determined to play in season finale