Lions QB Matthew Stafford played through broken bones in his back

Throughout his career, Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has battled through a litany of injuries.

This list was just expanded with it being recently revealed by Lions beat writer Mike O’Hara that Stafford went through the 2018 season with broken bones in his back. (h/t Kyle Meinke of MLive.com)

“He had a broken back last year,” Mike O’Hara, a longtime veteran of the Lions beat who currently writes for the team’s official website, said during a recent episode of his weekly podcast with WJR’s Ken Brown. “Broken bones in his back.”

Prior to this, there hadn’t been any questions about his toughness as he has played through numerous injuries throughout his career. Stafford has proven to be quite a durable player despite these constant nagging injuries.

He appeared on the injury report late in the 2018 season with a back injury. However, it was never revealed the extent of the ailment that he was dealing with. The fact that this wasn’t revealed was a bit strange, but this only speaks to the level

He was able to play in all 16 games of the regular season for the eighth straight year. In fact, he hasn’t missed a game since his second campaign back in 2010 where he played in just three games that year.

This shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise as he had played through a separated shoulder in his rookie campaign that he played through to throw a game-winning touchdown to beat the Cleveland Browns despite team doctors on the sideline telling him not to go back into the game.