Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford will take some extended time off because of pain in his throwing elbow.
Coach Sean McVay said the Rams plan to keep Stafford, 34, on the sidelines during team drills the rest of this week and in practices next week — all with the goal of making sure the veteran quarterback is ready to go against the Buffalo Bills when the season opens on Sept. 8.
“Anytime that you’ve played as long and are as tough as he is, I don’t know if you’re ever truly pain-free,” McVay said. “But the goal would be for Sept. 8 and, really looking toward 17 games and then hopefully some games after that if we earn that opportunity.
“That’s kind of the perspective, the big-picture approach we want to be able to take.”
In 2021, in his first season with the Rams, Stafford led Los Angeles to a win in Super Bowl LVI in February. After the season, he signed a four-year, $160 million contract extension.
Last season, he led the Rams to a 12-5 record in the regular season, setting a franchise record with 4,886 passing yards and tying a team mark with 41 touchdown passes.
Entering his 14th season, Stafford is five yards short of 50,000 for his career. He’s completed 63.0 percent of his 6,825 pass attempts with 323 touchdowns and 161 interceptions in 12 seasons with Detroit (2009-20) and the Rams.
The Lions selected him with the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2009.
–Field Level Media