Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff is still recovering from the oblique injury that kept him out of Sunday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Still, there were some encouraging signs Monday regarding his availability for Thursday’s game against the Chicago Bears.
UPDATE: Lions coach Dan Campbell said Tuesday “it’s leaning” toward Goff playing on Thursday. “We’ll see.”
UPDATE 2: The Lions officially listed Goff as questionable on their Wednesday injury report.
Jared Goff injury update
The Lions conducted a walkthrough on Monday, but they had to submit an injury report to estimate who would have done what if they actually held a practice. And that report listed Goff as a limited participant — which is progress over the week before.
Goff had a throwing session Monday morning, and Lions coach Dan Campbell said Goff looked “really good.”
That’s progress. Goff didn’t practice all last week, and the quick turnaround with a Thanksgiving game led many to believe he would not play Sunday. And even with his improved health, that still might be the case.
Tim Boyle played in Goff’s place and looked pretty much exactly how you would expect a 27-year-old career backup making his first NFL start to look.
Boyle threw 2 interceptions against the Cleveland Browns and needed 23 pass attempts to manage 77 yards. Additionally, he had a brutal passer rating of 34.1 and an even more garish QBR of 6.7.
Can Goff play against the Bears on Thursday?
Not that it would have likely made much difference, considering the Lions’ huge talent deficiency, but Detroit did have another option at quarterback: David Blough.
Blough has been active every game this year, but he’s taken just 4 snaps on the season and hasn’t thrown a pass. Boyle took every snap in Week 10 even though Detroit went scoreless on its last nine possessions.
By listing Goff as limited, the Lions hinted he has at least some chance to be available for Thanksgiving. Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters Sunday that Goff would start for Detroit once healthy. ESPN reported over the weekend that it was “unlikely” that Goff could play in Week 12, but perhaps his health has had an unexpected improvement.
In his first season with the Lions, Goff has completed 66.1% of his passes for 2,109 yards, 8 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and a passer rating of 84. The Lions are the NFL’s only winless team in 2021.