The Detroit Lions will face a difficult challenge Sunday afternoon at Chicago, especially on special teams. Lions punter Ryan Donahue has been ruled as likely out of Sunday's contest after a right quad injury continued to bother him today in practice:
"I tried to punt a little bit," Donahue said. "It felt tweaky, so I shut it down. I got treatment. I'm going to continue getting treatment and see what happens. Just a wait and see kind of thing."
It is doubtful that Donohue will even be a game time decision with this injury. Kicker Jason Hanson has also been hampered, so reserve punter Robert Malone could possibly handle both punting and kicking duties. Malone was signed earlier this week as insurance because of Donahue's injury.
A major disadvantage if Hanson is not able to go is that Malone does not handle kickoffs, so the Lions may have to call in yet another specialist at the last minute.