The Los Angeles Rams missed Matthew Stafford in Week 9, getting blown out by the Green Bay Packers, 20-3, without their starting quarterback. Brett Rypien, who filled in for Stafford, has since been cut, and there’s hope No. 9 will be under center in Week 11 when the Rams return from their bye.
Stafford hasn’t had a press conference since injuring his thumb in Week 8, but he appeared on the “Pat McAfee Show” Friday and provided a little bit of an update.
“Body’s feeling decent,” he said. “Trying to get the thumb and all that back up to speed and ready to go for Seattle.”
As for how his thumb is feeling, he says it’s doing better than he anticipated. Stafford admitted he was worried that it was a serious injury but he’s thankful it was only minor.
"Body is feeling decent and I'm trying to get the thumb back up to speed for Seattle..
Thumb is feeling better than I thought it would and I'm gonna do everything I can to be out there" ~ Matthew Stafford #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/wbFxyKL2nL
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 10, 2023
He’s doing everything he can to get back on the field as soon as possible, but he didn’t give a specific timeline for his return.
“Thumb’s feeling better than I thought it would,” he added. “I was a little bit scared in the Dallas game that it was going to be worse than it was and just happy it’s not. I’m going to do everything I can to be out there. I love playing this game and love competing, so I’m going to do whatever I need to do to be out there.”
Stafford’s diagnosis was a torn UCL in his right thumb, an injury he’s suffered in the past. He didn’t require surgery and though he wasn’t able to grip the football properly in advance of the Rams’ Week 9 game, Sean McVay is optimistic he’ll be back next week against Seattle.