While Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz continues to leave open the possibility that Daunte Culpepper could play in tomorrow's preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, it's looking more and more unlikley. Culpepper was still experiencing soreness in his foot on Wednesday. Culpepper took eight stitches in one of his toes after an incident at his home on Saturday night. (Culpepper has yet to explain what happened.)

As a result, rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford will start the game and participate in about 25 plays (about a quarter and a half) before giving way to free agent Brooks Bollinger, who was signed on Tuesday. Bollinger is expected to play the rest of the game but, if he gets dinged or runs out of gas, the Lions will have O'Connell prepared to run some plays to close out the game.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz said today he still has not ruled out quarterback Daunte Culpepper for the exhibition finale Thursday night at Buffalo.

Schwartz said Matthew Stafford will start and play about a quarter and a half, regardless of whether Culpepper plays. Culpepper has an eight-stitch cut on the bottom of his foot.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz said after practice that quarterback Matthew Stafford likely will start Thursday’s exhibition finale but he was not certain about the status of Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton.

The Lions found out that Stanton has torn cartilage in his left knee and likely will have arthroscopic surgery Wednesday performed by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala.

“And then we’ll know more after he gets scoped,” Schwartz said. “But we don’t anticipate it being a long-term injury.”

Schwartz said Stanton suffered the injury during Saturday’s exhibition but he was not sure about the specific way it occurred.

Schwartz said he had not ruled out Culpepper for Thursday’s game at Buffalo. Culpepper missed practice in order to aid his recovery after suffering a cut on his foot at home Saturday night that required eight stitches.

With two quarterbacks injured, the Lions signed quarterback Brooks Bollinger and released guard Terrence Metcalf. Schwartz said if Culpepper does not play Thursday it will not affect his competition with Stafford for the starting job.

The Lions have just released this statement from the club: "Detroit Lions QB Daunte Culpepper sustained a minor cut to his toe at his home Saturday evening.

The injury, which required eight stitches, is not considered serious. Culpepper will not practice today and his status for Thursday's game will be determined later this week,''

The Lions close our their preseason schedule Thursday in Buffalo against the Bills. The Lions open the regular season Sept. 13 against the New Orleans Saints.

Culpepper and rookie Matthew Stafford are in a battle for the starting quarterback position. How this injury will affect that decision is unknown.

Daunte Culpepper and Matthew Stafford seemed to do enough Saturday to keep the Detroit Lions' quarterback competition wide open. "I feel great," said Culpepper, who was a Pro Bowl-caliber QB in Minnesota before a knee injury in 2005. "I honestly feel like I did before I got hurt." Stafford was 13 of 19 and threw an interception, which his coach blamed on Bryant Johnson for not being more aggressive.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz told Detroit media Friday that QB Daunte Culpepper will start at quarterback today against the Colts and play into the second quarter, with rookie Matthew Stafford playing into the third.

Derek Anderson looked worthy of being a No. 1 quarterback.

Rookie Matthew Stafford hardly looked like a No. 1 pick.

Anderson led Cleveland to its first offensive touchdown in seven games and stayed tight with Brady Quinn in their too-close-to-call quarterback competition, helping the Browns beat Stafford and the Detroit Lions 27-10 in their home exhibition opener Saturday night in Cleveland.

"I thought things went well," said Anderson, who got the start after coming off the bench at Green Bay last week. "I played all right. I made some good throws and a couple I wish I could have back. It was an opportunity and I was happy to go out there and play well while I was in."

Anderson started with the first team and finished 8-of-13 for 130 yards with one interception.

Quinn came in during the second quarter and was sacked on his first play. He went only 3-of-5 for 29 yards.

Stafford, selected first by Detroit in April's draft, threw an interception on Detroit's first play and went 5-of-13 for 34 yards. He also overthrew a wide-open Adam Jennings for a potential TD in the first half.

But for now,rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford’s competing with veteran Daunte Culpepper, who didn’t lead the Lions to a score Saturday night but looked better in comparison, finishing 10-for-16 for 86 yards. (He declined to comment after the game.)

Asked if he hoped he didn’t blow his shot, Stafford said: “No. I’m going to battle week in and week out. Whether I’m starting Day 1 or not, I’m going to be putting pressure on whoever is the starter for as long as I’m here, trying to get in there.”

Stafford sounded upbeat. He said it was a learning experience, just his second NFL exhibition.

“It’s definitely tough losing,” Stafford said. “Not used it. But got to obviously not accept it and just go back to work.”

Late Saturday night, after the Lions’ 27-10 exhibition loss to the Browns, rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford was surrounded by reporters in front of his locker.
He waited for everyone to get set before he began talking. He even smiled and waved some stragglers over. He knew he played poorly and everyone wanted to hear from him.

“I just couldn’t find a rhythm,” Stafford said. “I wish I could have kept playing. I mean, everybody does.

“That would have been great to come in, sit down at halftime, come back out and have a new perspective on things and go and try to make some plays. But that’s not the way the preseason is.”

Lions rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford, the first overall pick in the draft, will be the starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions on Saturday against the Cleveland Browns.

Lions head coach Jim Schwartz said Stafford will likely go into the second quarter with Daunte Culpepper taking over and playing until late in the third quarter or early in the fourth.

Rookie safety Louis Delmas, who didn't play last week because of a sore knee, will start at safety and will likely play the first quarter.