It’s unclear when Matthew Stafford will rejoin the Los Angeles Rams in practice, but head coach Sean McVay says he isn’t worried about his quarterback’s health at this point in the preseason.
Stafford left the Rams’ joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys last week due to hamstring tightness, and he didn’t practice the next day as a result. He also didn’t play in the Rams’ 13-9 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday, where Stetson Bennett led the team the entire game as he did in the first preseason win over the Cowboys the week before.
“I’m not concerned,” McVay said on Sunday, via ESPN’s Sarah Barshop. “I’m not … Do you want him to be able to get the work? Of course. But I’m not concerned based on what I understand the tightness is and erring on the safe side of caution for this week, if that’s what we end up having to do.”
Stafford threw for 3,965 yards and 24 touchdowns with 11 interceptions last season with the Rams. The 36-year-old completed nearly 63% of his passes, too, while leading the Rams to a 10-7 finish and a playoff berth, their first after their Super Bowl win in the 2021 campaign.
If Stafford can’t go, the Rams have Bennett and Jimmy Garoppolo available — though Garoppolo is suspended for the first two games of the season after he violated the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy.
The Rams have a final preseason game against the Houston Texans on Saturday. They will then open the regular season against the Lions in Detroit on Sept. 8.
While McVay isn’t sure what Stafford’s week will look like, it doesn’t sound like his injury will carry over into the regular season much, if at all.
“He can throw and do some of those things, as far as just some of the movement, if he’s feeling good … So we haven’t decided that yet,” McVay said. “But the arrow is pointing up and he’s feeling good as it relates to the hamstring tightness from last week.”
