The good news the Rams have been waiting for arrived on Monday, as head coach Sean McVay said that quarterback Matthew Stafford (back) and left tackle Alaric Jackson (blood clots) are expected to play in Sunday’s season opener against the Houston Texans.
Stafford, who missed the first four weeks of training camp with an aggravated disk in his back, has participated in full in each of the last two weeks of practices.
That trend is expected to continue this week, McVay said, as Stafford gears up for his 17th season, 191 yards away from crossing the 60,000-yard passing mark.
Jackson practiced in full on Monday, although the Rams did not do any contact during the workout. While he missed all of the live reps during training camp and he’ll need to be monitored during the week, the plan is for Jackson to start against the Texans, McVay said.
“He’s taken great care of himself and he’s put himself in a rare position to step in and play at a good clip,” McVay said. “He’s done everything in his power to be ready to go. This has always been the end goal in mind.”
While Jackson is cleared again to play football, the blood clot issue is no means behind him, McVay said. It’s still something that will need to be monitored throughout the season. But the Rams feel good about the plan they’ve put in place with outside experts to keep Jackson on track after signing a three-year, $57.75 million contract in February.
“That’s always something you have to manage,” McVay said. “We have a plan in place, but he’s in a great position and it’s a huge credit to him and to the medical team behind the scenes.”