Matthew Stafford missed the Rams’ Week 9 game against the Packers with a thumb injury, which he suffered the week prior. It was diagnosed as a UCL sprain in his right thumb, an injury he’s played through in the past.
He expressed confidence in his ability to play through it again leading up to Sunday’s game against the Seahawks, and that’s exactly what he did. In the Rams’ win over Seattle, he completed 17 of 31 passes for 190 yards with one touchdown and an interception, by no means his best performance of the season.
He missed a few throws that he would ordinarily make, too – none bigger than one down the right sideline to Darrell Henderson Jr., who was wide open with no defender within 15 yards of him. That’s a throw Stafford wants back, but he’s not blaming it on his thumb injury.
“I mean, I’m not 100%, but I’m good enough to go out there and make some plays,” he said after the game. “Definitely want some back, but there’s some I missed today that had nothing to do with that. I’ve just got to go out there and continue to rehab and get better and continue to try to put the ball in good spots for guys to make plays.
“God, there’s so many plays I want back that I know I can make. I’m obviously doing everything I can to try to make those plays. Hopefully my thumb will continue to get better and better and better and be able to take that stuff off it and be able to go play.”
Stafford will have another week to rest and recover as the Rams prepare to face the Cardinals in Week 12, which Kyren Williams is eligible to return for. As he said, the hope is that his thumb keeps getting better and better, eventually getting closer to 100% healthy before season’s end.
For now, he’ll have to play through some discomfort.