Lions' Stafford glad NFL altered COVID-19 protocols

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has taken a positive approach after being diagnosed with a false positive following a recent COVID-19 test.

Stafford had tested negative twice before an apparent positive test landed him on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Aug. 1. The 32-year-old then had three more tests after the positive, and all three were negative.

"I know everybody is doing the best that they possibly can. I'm glad it happened to me at this point, and the league is trying to change and make sure it doesn't happen again," Stafford said Tuesday. "But I'm sure there's going to be another problem down the road at some point that we're going to have to figure out when we get there. That's the way it's been for the last six months, we've all been living it. Whether we're a league trying to test thousands of players or just trying to go out and get our groceries.

"So we understand things are going to change and we're going to have to adapt but I'm glad it got settled. Glad it's over with and I'm just happy to be in the building hanging with the guys, getting a little bit of normalcy back when it comes to football."

Stafford's false positive led to the NFL altering its testing protocol less than a week later. Should an asymptomatic person tests positive, that person can now take two additional tests in the following 24 hours -- if they both come back negative, they can resume normal activity.

Stafford played just eight games last season after suffering a back injury on the final drive of Detroit's 31-24 loss to Oakland on Nov. 3. He went on injured reserve on Dec. 17, snapping a streak of 136 straight regular-season starts.

He passed for 2,499 yards with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions before the injury.

Stafford has passed for 41,025 yards with 256 touchdowns and 134 interceptions in 11 seasons since Detroit selected him with the top overall pick of the 2009 NFL Draft.

--Field Level Media