While Jacksonville quarterback Byron Leftwich has a partial tear in the lateral collateral ligament in his left knee -- an injury that typically requires four to six weeks of rest -- Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio isn't ruling out Leftwich for his team's next game against the Lions.
A source told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Leftwich would miss four-to-six weeks with his injury, but Del Rio said rest during this week's bye
might be enough and Leftwich might not miss any time at all.
"We'll re-evaluate Monday and have a better sense of when Byron
will be able to join us. We have not ruled out the Detroit Lions
here at home," Del Rio said Tuesday.
Leftwich, who was injured in Sunday's 20-6 loss to Houston, went to Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday to seek the opinion of sports orthopedist James Andrews after preliminary examinations on Monday showed possible ligament damage.
Andrews determined that the quarterback will not need surgery. He has been told to rest the injury, which was announced Tuesday as a sprain that would cause an indefinite absence.
The Jaguars (5-3), in first place in the AFC South, have a bye this week before playing host to the Detroit Lions on Nov. 14. With Leftwich unable to play, backup David Garrard will take over as starter.
Garrard has appeared in only one game this season, completing both of his passes for 28 yards. The 2002 fourth-round pick out of East Carolina has played in seven games (one start) in his three seasons with the Jaguars, throwing just 60 passes.
Leftwich was sent to see Andrews by his agent, Tom Condon, after developing pain late Monday afternoon.
Leftwich was hurt just before halftime Sunday against the Texans on a high-low tackle by Texans linebacker Kailee Wong and defensive lineman Gary Walker, a former Jaguar. Leftwich missed two plays before putting himself back in the game -- without input from the coaching staff, according to coach Jack Del Rio -- and finishing the game.
He finished 25-of-40 for 227 yards with two interceptions,
snapping his streak of consecutive games with at least one
touchdown pass at 12.
Leftwich said immediately after the game that he would be fine but
experienced problems the next day. Leftwich has had several leg
injuries dating to his college career at Marshall.
"Byron is in good spirits," Del Rio said. "He said, 'Coach,
give me this week, I'll be back next week. Don't worry about it.'"
As a rookie last year, Leftwich took over as starter from Mark Brunell, who was traded in the offseason to the Washington Redskins.
ESPN.com's John Clayton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.