Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford had the chance to appear in the 2017 NFL Pro Bowl but declined in order to rest his injured middle finger he suffered late this past season.
Stafford was the second alternate QB of the NFC team. Washington Redskins QB (and former MSU alum) Kirk Cousins replaced Atlanta’s Matt Ryan, while New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees replaced Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, who decided to pull out of the game over the weekend. Dallas’ Dak Prescott will start for the NFC.
Had Stafford played, it would have been the second Pro Bowl of his career. He appeared previously in 2014 as an alternate.
Stafford smacked his hand against Leonard Floyd during Detroit’s Week 14 matchup against Chicago. Though Stafford would wear a glove for protection and said that it wasn’t hampering his play, things didn’t work out as planned.
Following the injury, the Lions fortunes seemed to go the way of Stafford’s injured finger. They went 0-4 in the four full games they played afterwards, including their Wild Card playoff loss to Seattle. Stafford completed 58.6% of his passes after the injury, a near 10% decline from the 68.4% he threw beforehand.
After the Lions season ended, Stafford said his finger won’t require surgery, and that he planned to rest it.
