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Despite a reported torn ligament in his throwing hand, Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford will play on Sunday against the Carolinas Panthers. Stafford did not practice on Wednesday, but he was limited on Thursday and Friday this week, and quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan suggested that Stafford’s throwing motion has been mostly unaffected by the injury.
However, Stafford will be without three key weapons on Sunday, as running back D’Andre Swift and wide receivers Kenny Golladay and Danny Amendola are OUT.
On the Panther side, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is INACTIVE due to a knee injury suffered late last week. It appeared he was trending towards playing on Sunday—even taking part in some pregame warmups—but Carolina decided to play it safe.
It’s unclear who the Panthers will be starting in Bridgewater’s place, as head coach Matt Rhule has done a good job hiding his intention between former XFL quarterback P.J. Walker and 2019 third-round pick Will Grier. Both have split reps in practice this week, and both come with very limited experience. Walker has never started an NFL game, while Grier only tallied a couple starts last year, and they did not go well.
UPDATE: P.J. Walker will start, per Adam Schefter.
Lions inactives
WR Kenny Golladay
WR Danny Amendola
RB D’Andre Swift
DE/LB Austin Bryant
DT Da’Shawn Hand
QB David Blough
OL Logan Stenberg
Panthers inactives
QB Teddy Bridgewater
RB Christian McCaffrey
CB Donte Jackson
G John Miller
LT Russell Okung
S Sam Franklin