The Detroit Lions are headed to Munich, Germany, tonight to take on the New England Patriots on Sunday. This means that the preparations for the game will look a little different than usual. The long flight and time difference will take some getting used to and have the potential to throw the team off.
But the Lions may have bigger concerns than jet lag. On Wednesday, they released the first practice report of the week. There, they listed Jared Goff as a limited participant with a chest injury.
Jared Goff unexpectedly pops up on the Lions' injury report
This came out of nowhere. There has been no indication that Goff suffered an injury against the Dolphins, and there has been no mention of this from the players or the coaching staff. So this should come as a surprise to Lions fans.
This could mean two things. It's either such a small injury that it wasn't worth mentioning, and it will be completely fine when Goff is a full participant in the next report. Or it may have popped up over the last day or two, and it's not clear yet what the issue is.
We should get a better idea of where Goff is physically in the next update, but Lions fans aren't used to seeing their star quarterback on the injury report. The 32-year-old QB has been remarkably healthy throughout his Lions career. In fact, he hasn't missed a game since the 2021 season. He rarely pops up on the injury report as a limited participant, even.
Goff has been incredible all season and has established himself as an MVP candidate. Throwing for 2,134 yards, 15 touchdowns, and only two interceptions through eight games, Goff has been as good as he has ever been.
The level of concern among Lions fans isn't entirely about Goff's performance. The backup quarterback situation in Detroit is less than ideal. Joshua Dobbs will be in line to get the start in case Goff isn't available, but he was far from convincing in his preseason snaps. The Lions have never had to rely on him or another QB2 in years, so how well the offense can function with Dobbs at center is unclear.
In addition to Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown was also listed as a limited participant with a rib injury. That is another concern worth keeping an eye on over the next two days. For now, however, Goff and St. Brown's statuses shouldn't be in doubt. Cade Mays, DJ Reed, and Sione Vaki, however, didn't practice on Wednesday and should be considered doubtful to play vs. the Patriots at best.
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