Once again, the Lions will wait until Wednesday to announce the status of quarterback Matthew Stafford.

“He will be back,” coach Jim Schwartz said, pausing for dramatic effect. “Whether it’s this week or not, whether it’s next week or not is still yet to be determined. He is right on course but again, we talking about a quarterback and his throwing shoulder. We are going to be very judicious.”

Stafford, talking on his weekly segment on the Mitch Albom radio show on WJR, said he would try to throw this week. He said he was going to throw last week, as well. The Lions won’t say whether he did, but from the way he talked Monday, it seems this would be the first week he actually threw.

“I talked to our team doctor and I talked to (specialist) Dr. James Andrews and they thought it would be a good time to try and throw a football and see how it feels,” Stafford said.
When asked whether he could start throwing this week and still be ready to play Sunday, Stafford said, “We’ll see.”

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford continues to follow company policy when it comes to assessing his injured right shoulder: No information is good information.

Stafford refused to divulge any specifics about his rehab when he met with reporters today, three days after letting slip on the “Mitch Albom Show” that he would begin light throwing this week.

“I’m just rehabbing right now, just taking it day by day, doing the best that I can, trying to get out as soon as I can,” Stafford said.

What did Stafford mean when he said he’d do some “light throwing” this week?

“It’s obviously not going out and throwing as far as you can, as hard as you can right away, but somewhere between no throwing and that,” Stafford said.

Lions QB Matthew Stafford (right shoulder Out) did not practice Friday. As a reminder, Shaun Hill will continue to start for the Lions.

As expected, Shaun Hill will start at quarterback for the third straight week in place of Matthew Stafford (right shoulder) for Detroit.

"Matt is making great progress and doing a great job on his rehab," Schwartz said. "But he won't be ready this week."

As expected, Stafford apparently has thrown, but Schwartz wasn't providing any details.

"He's doing more and more," Schwartz said. "There's a lot of steps through that (throwing the ball). There's range of motion stuff, there's different objects, there's active throwing and there's working with a receiver. I don't want to go into where he is in that progression.

"It's not pain level or comfort level. It's about his throwing motion and ability to make throws."

Morris
Rookie running back Jahvid Best (toe) was one of five starters kept out of practice Wednesday.

He probably won't practice much, if at all, this week, though he still might play Sunday.

"There is a difference between pain and being able to do your job," Schwartz said. "He's played with a lot of pain in his career. He played with a dislocated elbow in college. But that's a pain situation. He could still run. When you are talking about his foot, you are talking about affecting his ability to run."

Maurice Morris will probably start in his place, and Kevin Smith (ACL) is expected to be active for the first time this year.

The Detroit running game is probably one to stay away from if Best doesn't start, despite the Pack giving up 116 yards a game on average so far this year.

Lions QB Matthew Stafford (shoulder) continued to miss practice Wednesday. Shaun Hill has been named the Lions starter for Sunday against Green Bay. Stafford expects to begin throwing some point this week and is targeting a return to action in week 5 against the Rams.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said he'll begin throwing a football today, 16 days after spraining his throwing shoulder in the opener against the Bears.

"They told me that I need to try to do some light throwing this week and see how it feels and we'll take it from there. I'll throw a little bit tomorrow and the next day and see how it feels," he said.

If everything goes well, Stafford could be back at practice next week and start against the Rams in two weeks.

QB Matthew Stafford said on Mitch Albom Show he'll "do some light throwing this week and see how" his sprained shoulder feels.

Lions QB Matthew Stafford (right shoulder) did not practice Wednesday. Shaun Hill will get the start for the Lions in a tough matchup with the Vikings.

Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz refused to shed any light on the status of quarterback Matthew Stafford, who sat out Sunday's game with a right shoulder injury.

Schwartz continued his line about not playing Stafford until he's completely healthy but would not give any indication of when that might be.

It looks like Detroit’s defense will be minus LB DeAndre Levy and DE Cliff Avril, who twisted his knee against the Bears. With Matthew Stafford sidelined a couple weeks with a bruised throwing shoulder, ex-49er Shaun Hill starts. He must find a way to get Nate Burleson more involved.