Latest From the Lions Including Transcript of Drew Stanton and Rod Marinelli's Press Conference!

TODAY'S NEWSÂ The Lions practiced today in shorts on the indoor field at the team's headquarters and practice facility in Allen Park. This week's practice

TODAY'S NEWS 

• The Lions practiced today in shorts on the indoor field at the team's headquarters and practice facility in Allen Park. This week's practice routine was intended to simulate the regular season.
• Lions Coordinator of Athletic Medicine/Athletic Trainer Dean Kleinschmidt met briefly with the media today and confirmed thatQB Drew Stanton sustained a ligament sprain to his thumb during Thursday's practice. Kleinschmidt said Stanton's thumb will be immobilized in a cast for four weeks and that Stanton will not play in Saturday's preseason game against the Browns. He also confirmed that K Jason Hanson, TE Dan Campbell and DT Cory Redding have been ruled out for Saturday's game against Cleveland.
• The team announced today that they have signed QB Drew Henson and released WR Eric Fowler. Henson (6-4, 235) played three seasons at the University of Michigan (1998-2000) where he completed 214-of-374 passes for 2,964 yards and 24 touchdowns. A Michigan native, he attended Brighton High School where he was co-valedictorian. Henson was originally drafted by the Houston Texans in the sixth round (192nd overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft. He was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in 2004 where he saw his first NFL action. Henson was released by the Cowboys at the end of the 2006 preseason and eventually signed to the Minnesota Vikings practice squad. After spending 2007 training camp with the Vikings, he was released and did not play in the regular season. Fowler, also a Michigan native (New Haven, Mich.), was a standout receiver at Grand Valley State where he garnered various honors, including: AP first team All-American, Don Hansen's Football Gazette first-team all-NW Region, Daktronics first-team All-American and D2football.com first-team All-American. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent for Pittsburgh following the 2007 NFL Draft but was released at the end of the preseason. Fowler eventually joined St. Louis' practice squad December 12, 2007 and then re-signed with the Rams following the season but was released July 22, 2008.
• Tickets are still available for the Detroit Lions third preseason game against the Cleveland Browns Saturday, August 7 at Ford Field. The television broadcast will begin at 7 p.m. (tape delay) in blackout areas, including WWJTV 62/CBS in Metro Detroit. Fans can buy preseason game tickets online at Detroitlions.com and Ticketmaster.com, in person at the Ford Field Ticket Office and TicketMaster outlets or by calling 248.645.6666.
• Highway construction and closures will affect traffic for Saturday's third preseason game at Ford Field. In Detroit, both directions of I-75 will be completely closed between M-8 (Davison Freeway) and I-94 for on-going bridge work. The closure is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Friday and end by 5 a.m. Monday. Alternative routes for Saturday's game are included below.

 

LIONS HEAD COACH ROD MARINELLI
On if he plans to look for a replacement for injured QB Drew Stanton: "We're just going to let him heal up and go from there."

On if he plans to rely on QB Dan Orlovsky as the backup while Stanton is injured: "Dean (Kleinschmidt) talked to you guys about the length of everything, so yeah."

On if he plans on looking for another QB for the remaining preseason games: "We're going to work some guys out and just make sure we have a couple guys available."

On if he would consider putting QB Jon Kitna back in a game if Orlovsky were to get injured: "We're going to work some guys out today. We're just going to bring some guys in and work some guys out. Right now, we've got two preseason games to go, especially the last one in Buffalo. We've just got to see some guys to help us get through a game."

On if he thinks Stanton's injury will be a setback for the QB: "I don't think it's that much. You'd like to have him every day, no question about that. Those are the cards we were dealt and we've got to get him going. He's out there, he's got to learn, listen and get his footwork and all those things. In a couple weeks, they're going to take (the cast) off and look at it and see where we're at; then (he'll) get going.

On how much he expects his starters to play against the Browns: "I'm looking at about 25 snaps this game. There will be some other starters in there playing longer. Some of the offensive linemen - we're going to keep those guys rotating maybe all the way through the half; but 25 (snaps) or close to the half."

On if he expects to play Kitna and his starting receivers the same amount he did in the previous two games: "Yeah, same deal. Some guys we're going to pull out earlier. We're trying to get as many guys as we feel are really competing for those jobs. We're going to rotate them as the first group so I get a bunch of guys going in there and I get a chance to look at them all against their (the Browns) starters, too."

On if other teams in the NFL play their starting lineups more during the preseason: "I don't know what everybody does. I've always kind of done this. To me, it's an extra ten plays. I don't know how much that's going to get you - I don't know, maybe it will. The thing I want to make sure is that we're prepared because, as important as anything in this game is this week of preparation and how we prepared as a team to go play. We've just got to go play. If ten snaps means more, or 25 - usually a half is 33 - so a half is eight snaps more."

On why he doesn't plan to play his starters beyond 25 snaps or into the third quarter: "I want to protect these players a little bit, too. The longer they go, the better the chance of an injury, too."

On if he plans on rotating players competing for starting jobs at various positions like the defensive line: "Yeah, the D-line, you're just trying to get them more in the mix. You have a feel that maybe this could be some of your squad, so I like to have some of those guys (play). Sometimes, a guy might come in at the end of the second quarter and their starters might be out, so the competition level might be a little different. So, what you do is maybe rotate guys a little bit earlier in the game so you can see them against that starting right guard, for example. It keeps them fresh a little bit more that way."

On which particular positions he's planning on rotating players: "We're going to rotate a lot of guys in."

On the rookie defensive lineman getting some reps with the veterans: "Well, I don't know. What I'm going to work at, for example, is a guy up front, like 5-0 (Ikaika Alama-Francis), in a nickel situation, I'm going to put him inside. I want to see him rush early in the game because he's been rushing pretty well right now. He might be able to really help us in some nickel, inside, as a rusher. I've got to see him do it now. He's showing up, but he's going in knowing that, hey, it's going to be early against a very good guard, and can we beat this guard. That's what I'm looking for, those types of situations, to see how he reacts. We got other players that we're going to look at that, too."

On how fired up Browns DT Shaun Rodgers will be to face his former team, the Lions: "Ask him. I don't want to speak for somebody else."
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LIONS QB DREW STANTON
On how he was injured and his feelings about it: "The end of practice yesterday it was just kind of one of those things where I was sliding up in the pocket trying to make a throw on a two-minute drill. I really didn't know what happened until somebody told me this morning that an offensive lineman kind of slid over. I stepped up and didn't really see him there and tried to fit a throw in, and my thumb just kind of got bent back, and (then) kind of excruciating pain. (I) went right off the field, got an X-Ray, saw that it wasn't a fracture or anything, and then went immediately to the hospital to see the team doctor and hand specialist."

On if he had any idea yesterday that his injury would last four weeks: "I really didn't have a chance to think about it, to be honest with you, because we put ice on it right away and tried to get it to calm down and went and saw somebody that knew the most information about it. So I didn't really know what to expect, and now knowing how long it's going to be it's one of those things that will be re-evaluated in two more weeks. And (I'll) just continue to try and stay in it mentally."

On how discouraging it is to be injured after playing so well: "You'd like to be out there playing, especially these last couple of games, and continue to try to get into a rhythm. But that's not the case and so now you try and find different ways to stay involved, and I'll continue to do that definitely."

On how important it was to get experience in the first two preseason games: "I think it was really important for me to get a chance to get out there and kind of run the offense a little bit and see how things evolve right in front of my eyes. Like I said, I viewed those as a test to see where I'm at and trying to progress mentally within this offense and seeing different problems that are presented to me, so I felt good with some of the things. Obviously continue to work on things and was looking forward to another opportunity to come out and play, but that's not the case now. (I'll) try and pick up and learn as much as I can with the future."

On whether the injury came from hitting a shoulder pad or a helmet: "Well, we didn't have shoulder pads on yesterday, so I think I just hit a shoulder. It was just one of those things, like I said that he was just sliding over to try and help pick up somebody and (I) just kind of slid into him and my thumb was hyper-extended."

On what lineman he collided with: "I don't even know. I'm not telling anybody. (Laughter) I don't know who it was."

On feeling as if he's been "snake bitten" due to various injuries: "I don't view it as that at all. I think it's one of those things that is out of my control and just one of the things that happens throughout the course of a practice or a game; so put a cast on it and try to let it heal. And it's going to heal as fast as my body will allow it to."

On if he broke the same thumb in college: "No, this is completely separate. I've jammed my thumb a little bit; I think all quarterbacks have hit their fingers or done different things, but this is completely separate, with everything being the ligament."

On when he found out he would be out four weeks after originally thinking it was "no big deal": "Yeah, that's what I thought. Like I said, I've done it before, but had no idea that when I went and saw the hand specialist and he said, 'Well alright, I'm going to go grab the materials to put a cast on.' So he told me that being a ligament that it could take four to six weeks but they would re-evaluate after two weeks. You know it's one of those circumstances that changes depending on the body and how fast it responds to healing."

ALTERNATIVE GAMEDAY ROUTES TO FORD FIELD
From the northwest suburbs: Follow eastbound I-696 to southbound M-10 (Lodge Freeway). Due to the weekend closure between M-8 and I-94, crews will open the ramp from southbound M-10 to eastbound I-94 to access southbound I-75/I-375 giving motorists access to the Madison Ave exit ramp.

From the northeast suburbs: Use I-696 eastbound or southbound Gratiot to access westbound I-94. Follow westbound I-94 to southbound I-75 to Ford Field.

From the northern suburbs: Option 1, follow the southbound I-75 detour which leads motorists onto westbound M-8 to southbound M-10 to eastbound I-94 to southbound I-75. Option 2, drivers can opt for southbound M-1 to Ford Field.

From the downriver area north of Monroe County line: Use northbound I-75 to northbound M-39 (Southfield Road) to eastbound I-94 to southbound I-75 to access Ford Field.
From south of Wayne/Monroe county line: Follow northbound I-275 to eastbound I-94 to southbound I-75 to access Ford Field.