GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Detroit Lions rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford said he knew nothing about a report that tests on his injured right knee are being forwarded to Dr. James Andrews for review.
Stafford said immediately after the Lions' 26-0 loss to the Green Bay Packers that it was the first he had heard of any report about Andrews, the noted orthopedic surgeon in Birmingham, Ala., looking at tests on the quarterback's knee. Stafford also said he had no plans to visit the surgeon in person.
"I'm not going anywhere," Stafford said. "I heard that too for the first time when I was walking off the field."
ESPN.com reported that Andrews on Monday would review a new MRI exam taken on Stafford's knee last week.
Stafford also said in a brief conversation with reporters that he's not worried that he might need surgery to repair the knee. Stafford didn't play for the second consecutive week since injuring it against the Chicago Bears. He missed four of five practices this week.
"I'm not going to discuss his prognosis or his status or anything else going forward," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. "He has a knee (injury), he hasn't been able to play the last two weeks. He got to where he wasn't able to warm up today, but we'll see if we can get him back on the field next week and move forward."
Stafford, who signed a six-year contract that guarantees him $41.7 million after being the No. 1 overall pick in the April draft, started in the Lions' first four games, throwing for 894 yards and three touchdowns with six interceptions and helping Detroit snap a 19-game losing streak. But Stafford was injured two weeks ago when Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye sacked him and twisted him to the ground.
Culpepper wasn't hit on the play, but he began limping just before he reached the sideline. He took one more snap before Drew Stanton relieved him.
Culpepper wasn't having a good day even before the injury, going 6-of-14 passing for 48 yards with one interception and two sacks.
"If I had continued to run, I might have severely pulled it," Culpepper said. "It's a tweak right now, and we'll see how it feels tomorrow and the next day.
"I don't know if I didn't probably warm up coming out of the halftime or whatever, but those things happen sometimes. We're going to treat it, strengthen it and see how it feels in a few days."
Schwartz said after the game that if Stanton also had been injured, Stafford wouldn't have come in and the coach would have elected to send Culpepper back in a shotgun formation to help limit his movements with the ailing hamstring.
"It never got to that point," Schwartz said.
"I don't think I've ever put a timetable on when he's coming back," he said.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
