The Los Angeles Rams still believe that star quarterback Matthew Stafford, who led the team to a Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in his first season on the West Coast, still has enough left in the tank for one more title push.
However, the veteran’s body has not been cooperating this offseason. Stafford has been largely confined to the sidelines this training camp while he tries to manage a bothersome back.
This week, he finally began to take part in football activities with his teammates, but now there’s been an unfortunate development to the situation.
The Rams apparently aren’t comfortable with Stafford taking game action in the final preseason game, as Pro Football Talk is reporting that he won’t even travel with the team to Cleveland.
Fans reacted to the news on social media.
“This probably has more to do with the lack of things to do in Cleveland than any injury he’s dealing with,” one fan joked on Twitter.
“Staffords health is one of the biggest mystery in the NFC this season,” someone else added.
For his part, head coach Sean McVay is doing his best to curb the mounting concern around Stafford’s situation.
“He’s taken full practice loads every single day,” he said. “He’s been a 100 percent participant in everything we’ve done this week. That makes me feel good. I thought he’s done an awesome job. Guys have gotten better and I think it’s important to be able to establish that rapport with the guys you’re gonna be playing with on September 7.”
It’ll be interesting to see if Stafford can stay healthy for the entire season or if his back proves to be too troublesome.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.