Matthew Stafford played into February for the first time in his career for the Super Bowl-winning Los Angeles Rams and the right-hander’s elbow could be showing signs of wear.
Head coach Sean McVay said Los Angeles is scaling back Stafford’s training camp workload and could take further precautions if pain persists in the elbow on the 34-year-old’s throwing arm.
“We’d lessened Matthew’s workload,” McVay said on Monday. “Really when we look at it, we’ve got five weeks until Sept. 8. He’s still feeling a little bit of pain, he could push through it. You guys have been out here, he’s been throwing and competing in team settings. We felt like the smart thing was let’s really just take it a week at a time. He ended up getting about 40 to 50 throws in individual. We didn’t take part in the team activities and that’s really more a result of he’s got so much experience.”
The Rams had a scheduled day off Tuesday and might use the time to construct more detailed plans of Stafford’s summer workload.
Los Angeles is the first NFL team to play a regular-season game, hosting the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium on Sept. 8, and Stafford isn’t expected to suit up in the preseason.
Stafford required an injection in the elbow during the offseason, but said he felt good to open training camp and embraced the team plan for a “pitch count.” Throughout his career, Stafford has played through various injuries, including toe and back issues last season.
“We could certainly push and he could really grind through this, but that’s not the goal with somebody like him,” said McVay. “It’s not something that we’re concerned about. We just want to be really smart with somebody that is as important as our quarterback is and as experienced as he is to be able to put together a plan that we feel like is in his best interest and in our team’s best interest.”
–Field Level Media
