Jared Goff was able to move around “quite a bit” on his injured left knee Wednesday, but the Detroit Lions quarterback said he will not know until later this week if he can play in Sunday’s season finale against the Green Bay Packers.
“It’s progressing,” Goff said. “Again, like I said, I hope to play. We’ll see how the week goes, but I don’t know (if I can play) is the answer until probably later in the week.”
Goff suffered what he termed a bone bruise in his knee in the first half of the Lions’ Week 15 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
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He played 64 of a possible 65 offensive snaps in that game, then missed losses the next two weeks to the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks.
Goff practiced on a limited basis Wednesday for the first time since suffering the injury, a day after he went through a workout for trainers that Lions coach Dan Campbell called “pretty promising.”
Wednesday’s practice was closed to reporters due to NFL COVID protocols.
“Today’s kind of a modified practice, but we see him taking the reps,” Campbell said before practice. “It’ll be more passing-related, seven-on-seven-type stuff that I think he’ll be able to participate in and get our skill guys moving a little bit.”
Goff said his injury is different than the bone bruise Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has been dealing with in his ankle.
Jackson has not played since Dec. 12, the week before Goff suffered his injury.
Jackson looked extremely hobbled last week in practice footage captured by ESPN.
Asked jokingly about his mobility compared to Jackson’s, Goff said, “If there’s a video of him moving or something, I don’t know. I will say that I’m not (as mobile as Jackson), though, to set the record straight, if that’s fair.”
Goff has struggled in his first year with the Lions, going 2-10-1 in 13 starts, but was playing his best football before the injury.
He led the Lions on a late winning touchdown drive against the Minnesota Vikings and threw three touchdowns in their upset of the Cardinals.
He said it was “very” frustrating to miss two games just as the offense seemed to click.
“Was playing pretty well and our offense was really starting to get some momentum going and that’s really the bummer,” he said. “Hopefully we can recapture it this week if I’m able to go and get a little bit going.”
Tim Boyle will make his fourth career Sunday if Goff cannot play. Boyle spent his first three NFL seasons with the Packers.
“Who knows what they’re going to do with their starters or what not,” Goff said. “But by all accounts they’re the top team in the league right now, and if we’re able to play a good game and come out with a win, it’d be pretty special to finish the season that way and that’s how we’re looking at it.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.