Matthew Stafford has been ruled out for Week 14 vs. Vikings

The Detriot Lions have freefallen out of the playoff picture heading into the final month of the regular season.

A big part of their struggles on the field has been due to star quarterback Matthew Stafford being sidelined for the last several weeks due to a fractured back. It appears that will extend into Week 14 action against the Minnesota Vikings, according to Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press.

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Da'Shawn Hand, Matthew Stafford out for Sunday's game vs. the Vikings

— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) December 6, 2019

Stafford has only played in eight games this season due to the injury that has forced him out of action in the previous four contests. The extent injury is something that he has voiced will only impact him no further than this season.

At the same time, the Lions look to be taking the precautionary route with their franchise quarterback. Detroit is already eliminated from playoffs, which would essentially give the team no real incentive to put him back on the field before he’s completely healthy.

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Stafford had been putting together a highly productive campaign with 2,499 passing yards with 19 touchdowns to five interceptions while holding a career-high 106.0 passer rating. He had also become the fastest quarterback to reach 40,000 career passing yards in just 147 games played.

The 31-year-old is currently in the midst of a five-year, $135 million deal that runs through the 2022 season. The contract does have a potential out after the fourth year in 2021 that would only have a $10 million dead cap, while the final year has no salary cap hit at all.