As Matthew Stafford gets set to enter his 17th season in the NFL and fifth with the Los Angeles Rams, the organization is being cautious to ensure he stays healthy.
Stafford is dealing with some back soreness that has kept him out of training camp practices so far. Head coach Sean McVay expected him to return to action next week, but it appears that won’t be the case.
McVay revealed on Saturday that they will keep Stafford out of practice a little longer to ensure he is ready to go for Week 1, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
Head coach Sean McVay on Saturday said Stafford, who is dealing with back soreness, will not practice next week as anticipated – he was scheduled to do so during the second five-day block of camp – and that the team will take it “a week at a time” with him, but the goal remains to have him back for Week 1 against the Texans.
“He’s doing really well. We’ve got a good plan in place,” McVay said after Saturday’s practice. “We are going to still take some more time with him, though. Nothing that’s changed in terms of a setback. I probably spoke a little bit too soon, but the ultimate goal is Houston and being mindful of that. So we’ll take it a week at a time with him. So I did want to be able to let you guys know about that. Based on sitting down with Reggie and with Matthew and talking with Dr. (Robert) Watkins, feel like that’s the smart thing to do.”
McVay added that despite the organization being cautious with the 37-year-old, he is not concerned that his status for the regular season is in jeopardy:
McVay also said that “I don’t have any reason to be concerned based on the information that’s been given,” reiterating the goal is still for Stafford to be back Week 1 and that this is the best plan for him.
“I don’t think we can be smart enough with somebody like Matthew, and I think it’s best for him, best for our football team and that’s kind of the plan that we’ll have moving forward,” McVay said.
With Stafford not practicing, that will give Jimmy Garoppolo and Stetson Bennett a chance to get more reps with the first team offense, which is good in case either is forced into game action this season.
While Stafford getting those reps would be ideal, he’s a veteran that knows McVay’s offense inside out and will certainly be ready to go in Week 1 as long as his back in healthy.
Davante Adams compares Matthew Stafford to Aaron Rodgers
Matthew Stafford has begun building some chemistry with new wide receiver Davante Adams this offseason, which was much-needed considering the former will be missing a significant portion of training camp.
When they did throw together though, Adams said that Stafford reminds him of another quarterback he played with in Aaron Rodgers.
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