ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert

I returned from Houston to find quite a quarterback kerfuffle in Detroit. By the end of the day, the Lions’ quarterback depth chart looked like this:

1. Matthew Stafford
2. Brooks Bollinger (That’s right)
3. Daunte Culpepper (Inj.)
4. Drew Stanton (Inj.)

Culpepper didn’t practice Tuesday because of a toe injury he suffered at his home Saturday night. Stanton was scheduled for surgery on his left knee to repair a torn meniscus suffered Saturday against Indianapolis. Stafford will start Thursday night at Buffalo and Bollinger -- signed Tuesday for emergency depth -- likely will back him up.

Here’s the entire lowdown from John Niyo of the Detroit News.

Coach Jim Schwartz hasn’t officially ruled out Culpepper from Thursday’s game, but you would have to think his status is doubtful. From this vantage point, the turn of events gives Stafford a wonderful opportunity to lock down the Lions’ starting job with a strong performance against the Bills. He and Culpepper have run fairly even in their summer-long competition, but sometimes the winner is simply the last man standing.

Stanton, meanwhile, has encountered a significant injury in each of his three NFL seasons. He missed 2007 because of a knee injury; a sprained thumb limited him during the early part of 2008. Schwartz said he didn’t believe the current ailment would sideline him for the long term, but it certainly isn’t what Stanton wanted to add to his resume this year.