Lions' Matthew Stafford on isolating due to COVID-19: 'I just hate being away from my family'

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Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was isolated from his team all last week after he was exposed to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.

However, he was able to play on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.

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Stafford said he dealt with a lot of stress being away from his family for the entire week. His daughter fell out of her high chair and suffered a concussion, and that was when Stafford considered breaking isolation to be with his family. That would have ended his chances of playing against the Vikings and possibly resulted in tougher discipline.

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The Lions suffered a 34-20 loss to Minnesota, and Stafford ended up leaving in the fourth quarter with a concussion. He finished with 211 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions before exiting the game.

Afterward, the Lions quarterback talked about the stresses from the week leading up to Sunday.

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“I understand it’s a pandemic and people’s health and safety are at risk, and I would feel terrible if I brought that in and infected a bunch of teammates or coaches or whatever it is,” Stafford said, via the Detroit Free Press.

“It doesn’t make it easy, but everybody in the league’s doing it. I just hate being away from my family. Finish a practice, finish a game, go hug my daughters, hug my wife, that’s what sometimes makes it worth it for me, and not being able to see them and hang with them has been really tough. But there’s other people dealing with the same kind of stuff I am. But that’s just the hard part for me.”