Matthew Stafford not concerned about back injury, expects to be ready for full offseason

As Matthew Stafford and the rest of the Detroit Lions left their Allen Park locker room for the last time this year, the franchise quarterback assured the media that despite ending the last two seasons with a serious back injury, he’s feeling pretty good right now.

“I feel really good, which is good,” Stafford said on Monday. “I’ve had quite a bit of rest, obviously, and I think I’ll be feeling really, really good pretty darn soon, to tell you the truth.”

That’s obviously promising news for Lions fans that have been increasingly concerned about Stafford’s health. This is a fanbase that has seen guys like Calvin Johnson, DeAndre Levy and now maybe even Damon Harrison Sr. end their careers short due to—among other things—devastating injuries.

But as he has proclaimed for the past two months, Stafford has no questions about his future. Back at the beginning of the month, the Lions quarterback confirmed his commitment to the game.

“I want to play for a long time, yeah,” Stafford said. “I felt like I was playing really good ball this year and (the back injury) was kind of a freak deal that happened.

That’s the long term, but even the short term looks promising for Stafford, as he said on Monday that he expects to be ready to go when the team gets back together for offseason workouts in a few months.

“Oh yeah, I’ll be good to go,” Stafford said without hesitation.

Though he would not comment whether he’d be able to play a game in the near future had the Lions theoretically still been playing, he did confirm that he will not require any surgery this offseason. As for those that remain understandably worried about his future, he tried his best to reassure them.

“I’m not concerned about it, so that should make people feel good,” Stafford said. “I’m the guy who’s living with the back. I feel pretty good about it.”