Orlovsky close to returning, will he start for Lions?
by Tom Kowalski
Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky could be cleared to practice as soon as Wednesday.ALLEN PARK — As of right now, Daunte Culpepper is the starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions and will face one of his former teams, the Minnesota Vikings, on Sunday at Ford Field.
Could all of that change Wednesday?
Quarterback Dan Orlovsky, who has been sidelined with a fractured right thumb for the past four games, could be given clearance to practice then and play Sunday. When asked Monday if that meant a change at quarterback might take place, Marinelli dodged the question.
“He’ll go in and see the trainer and see how it all works out,” Marinelli said. “We’ve just got to see (how) close (he) is.”
Orlovsky didn’t practice Monday, but he did some throwing in individual drills and on the side. Orlovsky threw everything from short passes to airing it out on deeper routes with plenty of zip on the ball.
“I threw today and it was fine,” said Orlovsky, who saw a hand specialist last week. “He said everything was healing fine.”
Orlovsky said the Lions training staff will see how his thumb reacts today and if there are any setbacks. Then, on Wednesday, he’ll visit the medical staff again and a decision will be made on whether he can play Sunday.
“If I can do something to make (the thumb) worse, I’m not going to play. I’m not going to be stupid about it. We’ll have to wait and see on Wednesday,” Orlovsky said.
If Orlovsky is cleared to play, does he expect to start against the Vikings?
“That’s a coaching decision. We’ll have to wait and see,” Orlovsky said.
Orlovsky and Culpepper each have started four games this season. While Culpepper has committed seven turnovers, Orlovsky has just two, and both were interceptions that he threw in his most recent game after injuring his thumb. Culpepper has fumbled once and thrown six interceptions, including two that were returned for touchdowns.
When asked about his team’s 47-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Thanksgiving, Marinelli said, “We were beaten soundly. We made mistakes, but what compounded it was the turnovers. We turned the ball over three times, and that’s going to take a really good team and make it look worse.
“That’s a very good team. Could we have played better? No doubt. Ball security would’ve helped us, (elimination of) some of the penalties would’ve helped us, but we didn’t help ourselves.”
Orlovsky also has an edge over Culpepper because he’s been in the offense for three years, while Culpepper was signed just a month ago. Last week, Lions offensive coordinator Jim Colletto said the Lions were “limited” because Culpepper still is learning the system.