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Training camp got off to a bit of a rough start for Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford after he was placed on the COVID/IR list due to a false positive test result. Despite some of the initial concern that came with the botched test, head coach Matt Patricia is optimistic that the team has since doubled down on their safety protocols.
Patricia recently spoke on the situation with Stafford's false test result during an appearance on NFL Network's Good Morning Football:
“Stafford's great,” he said. “It's certainly a very unique, difficult situation to go through for him and his family and obviously the team. Through the entire process, our biggest concern was No. 1, get the information that he's OK. Make sure (his wife) Kelly is okay. Make sure their family is OK. That's the No. 1 thing. Obviously a No. 1 family, they have a newborn baby and the biggest thing is making sure they were all right. From there, we tried to go through and do everything we could to double check and push forward and look at protocols and see what we could do to try to expedite anything we saw that was maybe inaccurate. We just pushed forward.”
Patricia added some high praise for Stafford and the team's concern over his well-being on and off the field.
“Stafford is an amazing guy. I've talked about it many times how wonderful I think he is, how tough. Great player, great guy, but certainly things start to affect you outside the building. They affect your family. They affect your every-day life. We have to be there to support and do everything we can to help him.”
Stafford's wife took to Instagram to express her frustration with the fallout from what they thought was a positive result. Although the matter was quickly resolved, Patricia's comments indicate that the Lions have since taken extra safety measures for players and staff in training camp.
The Lions can now focus on sparking a potential resurgence in the 2020 NFL season amid the unprecedented circumstances. Fortunately, they have good reason to be optimistic with Stafford back under center. The veteran enjoyed a stellar 2019 campaign by throwing for 2,499 yards, 19 touchdowns, five interceptions until a back injury ended his season after eight games.
