Matthew Stafford will continue to rehab his separated right shoulder, but Lions coach Jim Schwartz said on his weekly radio show this morning the team won’t rush its franchise quarterback’s return to the field. “He’s not going to go back on the field until he’s, No. 1, able to throw without restriction and make all the throws, and, No. 2, until he’s able to take a hit on that shoulder,†Schwartz said in an interview on 97.1 WXYT-FM. “So very similar to the first time when we rehabbed him. We’ll try to keep the same kind of criteria, keep the timetable… and just let him come back as the injury dictates.†Stafford visited Birmingham, Ala.-based surgeon Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on his injury Monday. Andrews told Stafford he didn’t need surgery and could continue on a rehab plan. “The thing with shoulder injuries, particularly with quarterbacks, you can do a lot of research and you can find a whole lot of different treatments – not a whole lot of consensus of opinion with different ways that those are handled,†Schwartz said today. “And the one thing we feel comfortable about is finding some consensus between our doctors and Dr. Andrews, so we’re going to keep rehabbing him and hopefully get him back on the field as soon as possible.†Stafford missed five games plus a bye week with a Grade 2 separated shoulder earlier this year. If he follows the same timetable with this injury, a Grade 3 separation, he could return in mid-December. Source: Detroit Free Press
