Matthew Stafford nearly missed Sunday's game due to COVID-19 protocols. The Detroit Lions quarterback made it but was forced to exit early.
Stafford went to the locker room in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings and was evaluated for a concussion. He never returned to the Lions' 34-20 defeat and was later cleared from the protocol.
Chase Daniel replaced Stafford under center and finished out the proceedings.
Detroit was down 27-10 at the time of Stafford's departure with 12:26 to go in the fourth quarter. The QB was 23-of-32 for 211 yards, one TD and two picks.
Stafford's early exit marked an end to a strange week for the veteran QB. The Lions signal-caller was sidelined for five days this week after coming into close contact with a person unaffiliated with the team who tested positive for COVID-19. Stafford was unable to practice, but watched practice live via Zoom. The QB was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list on Saturday and officially cleared to play against Minnesota on Sunday morning after his latest test came back negative.
The Lions fell to 3-5 with the loss and will host Washington next Sunday. It appears Stafford will be under center for that one.
