While Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is off to a great start in 2023, the team is reportedly “helping with pain management” for an all-new injury that could eventually put their playoff hopes in jeopardy.
The 2023 Los Angeles Rams have been one of the nice surprises in the new NFL season. They enter their Week 7 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 3-3 record and one of the more exciting offenses in the league. While rookie fifth-round pick Puka Nacua is making a case for rookie of the year in the NFC, he has only been able to have that success because of the strong play from his QB.
Matthew Stafford showed he was an elite player in his position in 2021, however, since the end of that season he has battled various injuries. The most notable of which was an elbow injury that forced him to miss time during the 2022 campaign before a back injury ended his year earlier than expected.
The injuries, mixed with his age (35) had many speculating if his best days were behind him. Yet, despite being without superstar receiver Cooper Kupp for much of this season, Stafford is third in the league in total passing yards and yards per game after six weeks. Turning the clock back to 2021 now has the Rams in the playoff chase when most experts wrote them off for this season.
- Matthew Stafford stats (2023): 1,677 yards, 6 TD, 5 INT, 83.5 passer rating
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Matthew Stafford reportedly dealing with a notable hip injury
Unfortunately, the anchor of the Los Angeles offense is dealing with an all-new injury that should concern Rams fans in the weeks ahead. On Saturday, The Athletic’s NFL insider Dianna Russini spilled the tea on Matthew Stafford’s current condition.
“While his health has been great overall this season compared to years past, the quarterback has been dealing with an aggravated hip, according to team sources.,” Russini wrote. “It’s not considered ‘serious,’ but the training staff is closely monitoring and helping with pain management.”
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While it is good that the injury is not “serious,” that could surely change in such a violent sport like football where he could be hit in the area or fall on it at any time. It is something for Rams Nation to watch for in what has been a positive season thus far.