The NFL offseason has been riddled with quarterback news.
Remarkably silent in all of the discussions has been the Los Angeles Rams.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford started the 2022 season with an elbow injury that raised questions.
Those questions got louder when Stafford finished the season prematurely, playing only nine games in 2022, with a spinal cord contusion and multiple concussions.
Stafford is 34 years old, but his body has taken a beating, especially from the years in Detroit.
Both Stafford and the NFL rumor mill have been sharing information on his future, but the two accounts are remarkably different.
What Stafford Said In December
Stafford’s wife, Kelly, has a podcast called “The Morning After with Kelly Stafford.”
When Matthew was a guest in December, she asked him if he was retiring.
He answered the question by saying “Oh, no.”
Here it is from Matthew himself on retirement: pic.twitter.com/S3hUsHlArR
— HoldenCantor (@HoldenCantor) December 20, 2022
If Stafford said this three months ago, why are people questioning his status for the 2023 season?
Rumors Circulating At The 2023 NFL Combine
It seems that Stafford’s health was an issue of discussion among insiders at the 2023 NFL Combine last week.
NBC’s Matthew Berry shared what he heard in Indianapolis.
Berry was told by NFL insiders that a Stafford retirement in 2023 is not an impossibility.
As Berry relayed the stories he heard, people said Stafford “could barely throw” last year.
Asking about #Rams QB Matthew Stafford, @MatthewBerryTMR was told:
“The guy could barely throw last year. Retirement is still not out of the question.”
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) March 6, 2023
What It Means
It could be just hearsay that is circulating at the Combine.
Everyone knows the extent of Stafford’s injuries in 2022 so this is not new news.
The fact that Stafford answered without hesitation in December when he was still dealing with the injuries says a lot.
The Rams have no first-round draft picks for the foreseeable future because of the Jared Goff and Matt Stafford transactions so if they need a quarterback, it will have to be a free-agent signing or a trade that gets them one.
They do need a backup as their 2022 partial-season backup, Baker Mayfield is a free agent.
We will not really know how healthy Stafford is until we see him throw which probably will not happen until July.
In the meantime, these rumors could continue to swirl around the Rams and Stafford.
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