The Los Angeles Rams are coming off a very unexpected trip to the NFL playoffs last season, and as a result, they have relatively high hopes for this season.
But while they have a number of young emerging stars at key positions, they also have an aging quarterback in Matthew Stafford who has had some injury troubles over the last couple of years.
Per Lindsey Thiry of ESPN, Stafford left the Rams’ joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday with some tightness in his hamstring.
Rams QB Matthew Stafford did not finish today’s joint workout with the Cowboys due to hamstring tightness, per a Rams official.
— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) August 14, 2024
Stafford missed two games last year with a sprained UCL, and in 2022, he only appeared in nine games because of a concussion and a spinal cord injury.
When he’s been healthy, he’s still been a Pro Bowl-level quarterback — he threw for 3,965 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2023 — although his completion percentage fell to 62.6 percent, his lowest since 2014, last season.
The Rams’ chances of making the playoffs again, let alone doing damage there, will hinge on how healthy Stafford will be throughout the season and whether he retains his usual level of play.
After carrying a lacking Detroit Lions franchise for 12 years, he arrived in L.A. via trade for the 2021 season and put up outstanding numbers while leading the Rams to the Super Bowl championship, their first as a Southern California team (they had won one in the 1999 season while based in St. Louis).
The cast they have now is significantly different, but they’re hoping Stafford will last long enough to allow them to take steps toward another Vince Lombardi Trophy in the near future.
NEXT:
Matthew Stafford Reveals How Far He Can Throw A Football