Jahvid Best hopeful for a Week 7 return after concussion evaluations

Jahvid Best may be cleared to return to the Lions on Friday after suffering two concussions last season. (Leon Halip/Getty Images)

Lions running back Jahvid Best will find out if he's cleared to return to football on Friday, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press on Thursday afternoon. Best suffered two concussions last year and has not played since Oct. 16, 2011. He went through several neurological evaluations earlier in the week.

"When you take the concussion test, it’s a lot of stuff that goes on,” Best said. "I took it Monday, and so they don’t know how it went until Friday. It’s a lot of, I don’t know if you’d call it grading or not, but there’s a lot of stuff that goes on, so I can’t give you my opinion on how it went. But I’m just hopeful for the best… I know I can get back out there and make a difference."

Lions coach Jim Schwartz said a team of outside specialists across the country have been consulted during the latest round of tests rather than team trainers.

“That’s a sign of the times, and I think it’s good that way,” Schwartz said. “Hopefully, we get good news, and when he’s eligible to come off PUP [physically unable to perform], he’s able to do that. But we can’t force that issue, we can’t have anything to do with that issue.”