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All reports and indications are that Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford will start on Sunday in New Orleans. The real question is whether he’ll finish.

Stafford officially has an ankle injury, and Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press recently suggested that Stafford may eventually have to exit the game against the Saints.

“I know this for one simple reason,” Monarrez writes. “I’m believing those lying eyes of mine instead of listening to all the macho bluster coming out of Allen Park.”

Monarrez explains that Stafford clearly was in pain last week against the Panthers, and that it got worse as game went on. Any gains Stafford may have made in the last week could easily disappear if/when Saints defenders target the ankle for an extra twist after he’s put on the ground with a legal hit in the pocket. And if he dares to run the ball, he exposes himself to the possibility of getting hit at or below the knee, which is where (thanks, Doctor) the ankle is.

It’s definitely cause for concern, both as to whether Stafford can keep going and as to how he’ll perform with limited mobility — and how the Saints will defend a quarterback who may be moving around as little as possible.