Matthew Stafford isn’t too concerned about his ‘abnormal’ elbow soreness
It is difficult to gauge what irritates Matthew Stafford more — soreness in his right elbow or questions from reporters about it.
The Rams quarterback on Saturday attempted to quell the controversy that erupted this week when coach Sean McVay said the 14th-year pro was working through a condition that is “abnormal” for a quarterback.
“I’m not too worried about what it’s called or whether its abnormal or not or whatever,” Stafford said after practice at UC Irvine. “What I’m worried about here: How did I feel, let’s continue to progress and get better.”
Though Stafford described it as “a little soreness,” and McVay again claimed he did not know the term for what Stafford is working through, a person with knowledge of the situation said this week that Stafford is coping with tendinitis.
Coach Sean McVay and the Rams are in new territory, dealing with an arm injury to starting quarterback Matthew Stafford that usually is suffered by baseball pitchers.
Stafford, 34, played through pain last season, when he passed for 41 touchdowns and led the Rams to victory in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.
After the season he received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his arm. He also signed an extension that includes $120 million in guarantees.
Stafford did not throw passes during offseason workouts and the Rams are attempting to manage his workload during training camp.
Does that qualify as a chronic condition?
“Oh no,” Stafford said. “I’m just going through something that is irritating at the moment, but I’m working through it.
“We’ve got a great plan, I’m feeling stronger every time I come out here and throw.”
Stafford looked on Saturday as if he was in perfect shape, firing accurate short, midrange and long passes during individual drills and seven-on seven sessions. He is being held out of full-team drills and performing strength, speed and recovery drills during those periods.
“I felt like I could make any throw I wanted to,” he said, adding, “and just trying to be smart when I get those opportunities and make sure I can come out here, cut it loose, turn it loose like I did and go from there.”
Stafford’s performance showed the Rams are “very much on track” with their plan to make sure that Stafford is ready for the Sept. 8 opener against the Buffalo Bills and beyond, McVay said.
“The ball was jumping out of his hand, making all types of throws,” he said. “I think he was trying to show [reporters] that, you know, probably not many questions you can ask him either based on how he felt and how he was throwing it around.”
Questions, of course, abound about how Stafford will hold up for a team that is attempting to become the first since 2004 to repeat as Super Bowl champion.
Stafford attempted to sound as if he were surprised by the reaction to McVay’s “abnormal” comment earlier in the week. McVay also said it was along the lines of an injury sustained by major league baseball players .
“It’s gotten a lot more traction than I would have thought,” Stafford said, adding, “But to be honest, it doesn’t really change my life any.
Dick Vermeil worked with some of the greatest football coaches, but it was advice from John Wooden at UCLA that prompted the coach’s great career.
“I’m just sticking to the plan and trying to get to feeling as good as I can so I can go out there and play really good football all year.”
During his 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, Stafford suffered numerous injuries, including arm issues. He has thrown more than 7,000 passes in regular-season and playoff games, according to Profootballreference.com. And that does not count thousands of passes thrown in workouts.
“I’m not going to get too granular into how we got to this point,” he said when asked how longevity might have contributed to his condition. “I don’t think that is the sole cause of it but I’m sure it contributes to it.
“Any time you put an arm through as much stress as I have over the years, it’s not going to look like [a reporter’s] elbow, but it’s not one of those things that the more I throw the worse it’s going to get. It’s just a balancing act at this point.”
Etc.
With players in full pads, star cornerback Jalen Ramsey participated in seven-on-seven drills for the first time. Ramsey, who is coming off shoulder surgery, had been limited to rehabilitation drills and walk-throughs. “We’re really looking at it with him as kind of his own five-day acclimation period,” McVay said. “He’s feeling good, and then we’ll increase that workload as we go.” … The Rams are off Sunday. They will practice Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before returning to their Thousand Oaks facility.
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