Lions quarterback Jon Kitna isn’t pleased with the manner in which he has phased out as the team’s starter. On Wednesday, he spoke about it with Mitch “Mondays With The Hair Dye Guy” Albom of WJR radio. “They decided they wanted to go in a different direction,” Kitna said. “And I guess the thing for me is, that’s fine. Let’s just say that.” But is it? “That’s the one thing that really bothers me the most,” Kitna said. “You want to make a change? Hey, I can see that. I understand the position. I understand how things go in this league. But let’s make a change and let’s say what it is.”
Still, Kitna acknowledges that he has a bulging disk in his back. But he thinks he could have played on Sunday against the Vikings.
Kitna said he won’t rehab his injured back at the team’s facility. “I just think with how things are and the tension that had existed all year in the building in terms of my position and things like that, I think it was just best for both parties that we do it outside the building,” Kitna said.
“Was there reasonable cause to put me on IR?” Kitna asked. “Yeah, because they said there’s a bulging disk. But the reality is, most guys have bulging disks.”
Moving forward, the Lions say they won’t be releasing Kitna from IR. After the season, then, the Lions will have to decide whether to keep him, trade him, or cut him.
“I’m not going to go and beg somebody to release me or do anything like that, because that’s just not who I am. I let a man be a man, and if they want to make that decision, then so be it. They know I want to play football.”
Regardless of how it all plays out, it’s highly unlikely that Kitna will be playing football again in Detroit.
