Matthew Stafford injury update: Adam Schefter gives ‘problematic’ detail on Rams QB

Concern is growing regarding a back injury to Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. The veteran, getting ready to enter his 17th NFL season, still has not practiced in training camp with the regular season opener a little more than three weeks away.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter joined NFL Live on Tuesday to discuss the injury to Stafford. He reported that while the team remains optimistic he will be ready for kickoff on Sept. 7, he personally is starting to get worried not only about that, but also Stafford’s ability to hold up in the rest of the season.

“They thought he’d be back at practice Monday. He wasn’t,” Schefter explained. “They thought he’d be at practice maybe today. He’s not. At some point, there has to be some level of concern that builds up, but it hasn’t yet within the organization. They remain quietly and privately confident that he’s gonna be ready for the regular season opener against the Houston Texans. But now, we are just over three weeks away.

“He’s 37 years old. It’s a back (injury). Back’s linger. I think it’s problematic, but again, they have not been concerned and they have maintained all along that if there were a game this week, Matthew Stafford would be out there and he would be playing.”

Stafford worked out on Saturday prior to a preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys. He made roughly 70 throws of all lengths, but his back “didn’t respond the way that you wanted it to,” according to coach Sean McVay.

That combined with Stafford not having yet to get any practice reps with the team is a little worrisome. However, he still has plenty of time to rest up and perhaps this is precautionary more than anything.

This season will be Stafford’s fifth in Los Angeles after he played the first 12 of his career with the Detroit Lions. He helped lead the Rams to a Super Bowl victory in 2022 during his first season with the team.

This past year, Stafford took LA to the Divisional Round of the playoffs, where it lost against eventual Super Bowl champion the Philadelphia Eagles. He put up numbers of 3,762 yards passing and 20 touchdowns to eight interceptions in the regular season.

Stafford is expected to lead the offense again this season, though the Rams did add Jimmy Garoppolo as a backup. We’ll see whether Matthew Stafford can make some progress with his injury this week as the Rams have another preseason game scheduled for Saturday against the Chargers.