Lions Officially Move Jon Kitna to Injured Reserve

Here's the press release from the Lions:

Detroit Lions General Manager Martin Mayhew announced today that the team has placed QB Jon Kitna on the Reserve/Injured list.

"After extensive examination and consultation with the team medical staff, it became clear that placing Jon on injured/reserve was the right decision. Jon and I met today and discussed moving forward with respect to his rehabilitation which will be done in coordination with our medical staff."

Kitna (6-2, 220) had started in 36 consecutive games for Detroit before leaving the Week 5 contest against Chicago (10/5) with a back injury. Consequently, he missed his first game as the Lions starting quarterback the following week at Minnesota (10/12).

"Jon injured his back in the first half two weeks ago against Chicago," said Team Physician Dr. Kyle Anderson. "This represents an acute exacerbation of a chronic condition. Rather than risking further injury, it's the collective opinion of the medical staff that the best decision is to place Jon on the injured/reserve list allowing him to complete a rehabilitation program."

With Kitna on the IR, Dan Orlovsky now takes over as the team's starting quarterback.  Obviously many wonder just how long he will be the starter.  Drew Stanton has been fully practicing for a couple weeks now, so he should be ready to play in the very near future if he isn't already.  Considering that, it'll be interesting to see how long the Lions stick with Orlovsky if he struggles or if the Lions don't win any games with him as the starter.