The Los Angeles Rams had planned to see Matthew Stafford take his first snaps of the preseason on Monday. Instead, the veteran quarterback remained on the sideline in street clothes, a development head coach Sean McVay attributed to lingering discomfort in Stafford’s back following a weekend workout.
“Ultimately, what ended up happening, had a great workout, felt good, but then came in today, it doesn’t feel great,” McVay explained. “(I) didn’t think that was the right decision to be able to push him. We’ve always talked about flexibility, being fluid with some of the plans. And I think more than anything, I feel for a guy that I really care about that wants to be out there more than anything else.”
Stafford, 37, has been dealing with an aggravated disc issue for several weeks. He was able to throw more than 60 passes on Saturday without restrictions, including deep, intermediate, and short throws. McVay described the session as “really good” but said the quarterback’s body didn’t recover well enough to risk a practice two days later.
Surgery Not Currently On The Table For Rams, Matthew Stafford Injury
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While the setback sparked questions about his availability for the regular season opener against Houston on September 7, McVay emphasized that surgery is not part of the current discussion.
“There’s been a lot of conversations about what’s the best method of how we want to approach it,” McVay said. “That hasn’t been something that comes up.”
The Rams have characterized the approach as deliberately cautious. McVay noted last week that if it were the regular season, Stafford would be playing. Still, the staff is weighing risk versus reward as they sit 27 days from Week 1.
“I think he still probably would be able to play, it’s just based on how he feels,” McVay said. “But because of how he felt overall, it’s like what’s the risk-reward with us being 27 days out?”
For now, Stafford remains “day-to-day” with no hard timeline for his return to team drills. Jimmy Garoppolo has been taking first-team reps in his absence, while the Rams keep a close eye on their starter’s recovery.
“What we want to be able to do is take it a day at a time,” McVay said. “Like I’ve told you guys from day one, I’ll defer to the experts. I’ll defer to Matthew. Nobody’s tougher than this guy.”
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