Sean McVay admitted on SiriusXM NFL Radio that “it was an uncertain moment right there” when Matthew Stafford hit his thumb on a teammate’s helmet in practice Monday. The team’s new star quarterback left practice with his thumb wrapped and though X-rays were negative, Stafford was expected to miss a few days of practice.
The Rams planned to keep Stafford on the sideline Tuesday, but he wasn’t going to let the injury force him off the field. And so Stafford suited up one day after suffering a thumb contusion and had no limitations, McVay said.
“He was good. It was a good contusion that he has on his thumb, but he’s so tough,” McVay told reporters Tuesday. “He got out here today, didn’t have any limitations, and he’s not going to say anything about it, but you know he’s pushing through, and I think that says as much about him as anything. Got a bunch of good work in today on both sides being our first day in pads, so I was really pleased with a lot of things on both sides. We’ll be able to look at this tape and clean it up, but Matthew’s doing really well, and I think that it all gave us a kind of sigh of relief, if you will.”
Based on the way he threw the ball in practice, he didn’t look limited at all, tossing it deep as if nothing was wrong. The thumb is so important when it comes to throwing it accurately, but Stafford played through a thumb injury for part of last season before undergoing surgery, so this is nothing new for him.
QB1 on the 💰 to @CooperKupp! pic.twitter.com/c7pUMhvfz3
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 3, 2021
“He certainly probably isn’t going to say anything, but he was able to throw the ball really well, made a lot of big-time plays today and got a bunch of good quality reps,” McVay said.
Stafford didn’t say he’s 100% healthy after going through practice, but it also didn’t seem to bother him much. He told the media that he feels pretty good and will continue to monitor his thumb in the next day or so.
“It feels alright right now. Just kind of keep an eye on it over the next 24 hours or so, but I feel pretty good. Not too bad,” he said.
Stafford is widely viewed as one of the toughest players in the NFL. He never wants to miss a rep, even when injured in one way or another. It’s not even the regular season yet and Stafford still refused to let the contusion keep him out of the team’s first padded practice.
“It’s our first day in pads and I want to be out there,” he said. “I want to be out there with these guys, every opportunity I get, whether I’m 100 percent or not. Every opportunity that I get to call, play and run against our defense and with our guys is an opportunity I need to get and I don’t want to waste them. If it was good enough to go, then I’m going to be out there to go.”
Stafford being out there at all was a huge plus in its own right, but he wasn’t overly thrilled with the way he performed. He said the team was “a little bit sloppy in the pass game from myself and really everybody,” adding that they “can be better.”
He won’t pin any of those issues on his thumb, though, and will just look to improve on Wednesday when the Rams suit up next.
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