Kenny Golladay is trending toward a return this Sunday for the Lions. That's the good news.
The not-so-good news is that he might be part of a depleted receiving core. And it's no sure thing -- not yet, anyway -- that Stafford will be throwing him the ball.
Stafford was unable to practice Wednesday due to a torn ligament in his right thumb, an injury he suffered in last week's win over Washington. He sounded optimistic Monday about his chances of playing this weekend against the Panthers, and that remained the expectation internally on Tuesday night.
It might still be the expectation now.
But Stafford sounded slightly less sure about his chances on Wednesday.
"Doing alright," he said of the thumb. "Just going to do what I can to try and be out there. We'll see. Just trusting what our doctors say and what our trainers do to try to help get it as good as I can and we'll see."
The injury occurred early in the game against Washington, and Stafford showed no ill effects the rest of the way. He wound up with his best passer rating of the season. Maybe that was the adrenaline.
He laughed and said his thumb, like the rest of his body, "felt worse on Monday." The question now is how it will feel on Sunday.
"Obviously gripping and throwing the ball is a little different when any of your fingers hurt or are injured," Stafford said.
It would quell some concerns if Stafford is able to take the field for practice Thursday or Friday. He said the training staff has fitted him with a special glove to protect his thumb. At the same time, concerns will grow if he remains sidelined.
"I'm just going to take it day by day and see how it heals, how it feels throughout the week and go from there," Stafford said.
If he does play, Stafford said "there's no excuse for playing poorly."
"Just gotta go out there, see what you're capable of doing and play to your best ability and try to help us win," he said. "That's what I'll try to do if I can get out there."
On the receiving side of things, Golladay practiced Wednesday -- in a limited capacity -- for the first time since injuring his hip in Detroit's Week 8 loss to the Colts. That's a good sign for his availability Sunday.
But Marvin Jones was sidelined with a knee injury and Danny Amendola was sidelined with a hip injury. Amendola was unable to play toward the end of the game against Washington.
Jones is coming off his best performance of the season, catching eight passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. He's eyeing a big second half in what could be his final season in Detroit, but an injury could derail those plans.
So could any kind of absence for Stafford, who we shouldn't count on for Sunday just yet.
