Kitna on IR

[longshanks]

I'm surprised this wasn't posted, but maybe it got lost in all the Roy Williams drama.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3642616

Lions opt to place quarterback Kitna on injured reserve
Updated: October 14, 2008, 5:20 PM ET

Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna, who did not travel with the team and missed Sunday's 12-10 loss against the Minnesota Vikings because of a back injury, was placed on injured reserve Tuesday afternoon.


"After extensive examination and consultation with the team medical staff, it became clear that placing Jon on injured reserve was the right decision," Lions interim general manager Martin Mayhew said Tuesday in a statement. "Jon and I met today and discussed moving forward with respect to his rehabilitation which will be done in coordination with our medical staff."


The Oakland (Mich.) Press reported early Tuesday that according to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Lions had been looking to trade Kitna, but if that didn't work out, they would put him on injured reserve.

Sunday's game was the first he had not started since joining the Lions before the 2006 season.


"Jon injured his back in the first half two weeks ago against Chicago," Lions team physician Dr. Kyle Anderson said in a statement. "This represents an acute exacerbation of a chronic condition. Rather than risking further injury, it's the collective opinion of the medical staff that the best decision is to place Jon on the injured reserve list allowing him to complete a rehabilitation program."


Kitna told The Associated Press on Monday, however, that his injury wasn't that serious.

"I'll eventually be able to play," Kitna said. "I don't know if it will be this week."


Given the possibility Kitna could return to play this season, the Lions were looking for a team who might be in the market for a backup. When no serious contenders surfaced, the Lions put him on injured reserve.


Kitna's agent, Mike Moye, declined to comment to The Press.


Lions coach Rod Marinelli had declined to discuss Kitna's playing or health status on Monday, saying: "We'll have information about the injury for you on Wednesday. I'm not going to discuss that until we have a chance to meet with the trainers, coaches and doctors. As for the starting lineup, I won't talk about that until Sunday."

Marinelli's reticence was unusual because Kitna's injury happened Oct. 5, and Kitna had an MRI exam in the middle of last week.

"I'm not going to give out partial information," Marinelli said. "I've done that in the past, and it has ended up with incorrect information being printed."

Fourth-year pro Dan Orlovsky played in the loss to the Vikings. Drew Stanton, a second-round pick last year, was the Lions' No. 2 quarterback for the first time in his career.

Kitna threw for 758 yards this season, with five touchdowns and five interceptions.

Kitna had 4,000-plus yards passing in each of the past two seasons in Detroit and combined to throw 39 TDs and 42 interceptions.

He has thrown 152 TDs and 151 interceptions in 115 games for the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals and the Lions since making it to the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 1997.

[Vinny]

I posted it in the Lions News and notes I thought, must have screwed it up somehow. Regardless, this is kind of a huge move, signifies a true commitment to rebuilding, as they should.

I wonder to what extent Rod fought this? I really wonder what he's been told? "Play the young guys now and we'll consider you for next year"? "Play the young guys now or we fire you tommorrow"? "Look, you're gone next year, but if you follow our agenda, we'll put in a good word for you and your coaches around the league"?

[Tahoe]

I hope they give equal time to Danny O and Stanton. 5 games a piece or whatever.

[Wilfredo Ledezma]

Interesting piece by Mitch today in the Free Pres

http://www.freep.com/article/20081014/COL01/81014093

Jon Kitna deserved better from Lions

BY MITCH ALBOM • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • October 14, 2008

Jon Kitna deserved better. I don’t care if you liked him, liked his play, hated his results or none of the above. He never gave less than his all. He played when his head was spinning. He played when other quarterbacks would have begged their agents to find a new team.

And the Lions just dumped him. They won’t say so. Teams never do. They couched it in a press release about consultations with the medical staff. But I spoke with Kitna on Tuesday night and he knew the score. He said he was ready to try to play last weekend and was ready to play this weekend and instead, after a very brief meeting, he was put on injured reserve for the rest of the season, with no chance to play and no way to prove he could.

“I’m not whining,” Kitna said. “Nobody wins when that happens. But this is factual. Not long ago, I had a talk with Rod (Marinelli) concerning my health and my overall fate with the team, and basically the things I had to say, he didn’t want to hear.

“On Friday they said you’re not going on the trip (to Minnesota) even though I was perfectly healthy on Friday, which is the norm with back spasms for me.…

“Then they said they were gonna look at three possibilities. One, wait a couple weeks to see how my back responds. Two, put me on IR. Three, try and trade me.”

Trade deadline came and went Tuesday.

In effect, he was put out to pasture.

Now, yes, this is Kitna’s take. And maybe we’ll hear more of the Lions’ as days pass. But let’s be honest. When a team is 0-5 and the president has been fired, everyone is scrambling. Marinelli’s staff and the new front office are working on borrowed time. It’s human nature to try to save your career. In football, that can mean sacrificing someone else’s.

In this case, Kitna’s. What would any of them gain by keeping him out there? The Lions have only LOST with him out there. Never mind that, besides the Green Bay debacle, the losses were hardly Kitna’s sole fault. All eyes are always on the quarterback. If by using Dan Orlovsky or Drew Stanton, the Lions somehow catch a spark, win a few games, who knows? Maybe the coach or front-office types can survive.

Kitna, despite one year left on his contract, is almost certainly done in Detroit. The Lions will say they can’t trust the bulging disk in his back. Kitna will tell you X-rays of any 36-year-old football player likely will show you a bulging disk. The fact is, he wanted to stay active, and he got the feeling nobody wanted to hear it. Coaches avoided speaking with him. It seemed to him their minds were made up, a new direction was best — and don’t think the fact that Kitna has been critical of the “new” offensive system didn’t help seal his fate.

So, after starting every game the last two seasons, after exceeding 4,000 passing yards in each — he has been told, essentially, stay home. Kitna said he felt he was being treated like “a cancer on this football team, because I keep pointing out things that we can’t do on offense.”

Heck, I do that every week.

It’s wait till next year again

Now, it’s clear from Tuesday that the 2008 Lions are now officially the 2009 Lions, all eyes on the future. And at 0-5 that makes sense — as does getting three draft picks for Roy Williams (although the Lions and draft picks go together like Wile E. Coyote and dynamite).

But there is always a casualty in football. The Lions used Kitna when they needed a quarterback to endure endless pressure. And, yes, they’re paying him well, and, yes, that’s his job — and, yes, he’s more right than they are that this offense won’t work with its current personnel and NFL defenses.

But he went out and battled anyhow, until they yanked him. “When they just stop talking to you, you know something is wrong,” he said. “But they created a perception in the building that I’m a selfish player and that bothers me. I have played my whole career putting the team first and that really stinks to me..…

“I believe God is control of everything, even this situation. If God decides that football is over for me, I’m ready to accept that.”

In the meantime, he’ll probably watch games from home, like the rest of us, another experience in which God’s name is often invoked. You wish the Lions well. But this could have been handled better. Kitna deserved that much.

[MoTown]

I've been hearing rumors that Kitna was, in fact, a cancer in the locker room. He had lost it, and thus lost the team.

[Timone]

Kitna's a douchebag. I can't believe I respected him at one point.

I can't believe I shook that friggin guy's hand.