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No elbow problem. No money-related hold-in.
Just a scheduled day off.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford did not practice Monday — the team’s first in pads — but coach Sean McVay shut down speculation quicker than a Stafford-delivered pass during a two-minute drill.
“This was part of the plan all along,” McVay said, adding, “There’s nothing wrong with him. He’s good.”
Jimmy Garoppolo took Stafford’s place with the first-team offense and Stetson Bennett worked with the second team.
Read more: Stan Kroenke’s championship success has common thread
Although both excelled at times, there is no replacing Stafford. The 16th-year pro is the key player for a team that will enter the season with far greater expectations than the 2023 version that finished with a better-than-anticipated 10-7 record and made the playoffs.
So managing Stafford’s workload, and keeping the 36-year-old injury free, remains paramount.
In 2022, after the Rams’ victory in Super Bowl LVI, Stafford did not throw passes during the offseason and was limited in training camp because of right elbow tendinitis. Midway through a lost season, he sustained a concussion that forced him to sit out a game and then a spinal injury that sidelined him the last seven games .
Last season, Stafford returned to an elite level. After sitting out one midseason game because of a thumb injury, he led the Rams’ second-half surge to the postseason.
Read more: Rams’ Matthew Stafford, contract both adjusted: ‘I’m used to those kind of things’
During the offseason, Stafford surprised the Rams by asking for a contract adjustment. The Rams finally gave in last week and resolved the situation as players were reporting for training camp.
Stafford looked sharp throughout the first week of workouts, delivering passes from all angles to Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua and other Rams receivers. But after a day off Sunday, he was not in his jersey Monday.
McVay said the decision to sit Stafford was made because of the amount of…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/matthew-stafford-sits-avoid-injury-042708579.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-07-30 04:27:08
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