Matthew Stafford sat out the second half of last week’s practice with the Dallas Cowboys after he felt some tightness in his hamstring. He was taken off the field as a precaution, an understandable move by Sean McVay and the Rams because of how much time there is until Week 1.
When McVay gave an update on Stafford’s health, he didn’t sound worried at all, adding that he expected the quarterback to return to practice this week. Well, it’s still to be determined when Stafford will be back on the field.
McVay told reporters Sunday that he’s “not sure” if Stafford will practice on Monday, though he did note that “the arrow is pointing up and he’s feeling good.”
It’s a good sign that McVay isn’t worried about Stafford’s injury, and he actually thinks it could be beneficial for the veteran quarterback. With all of the experience Stafford has accumulated in the NFL, he doesn’t need the amount of practice time that younger players do.
And given the physical toll that training camp takes on players, McVay believes Stafford could use a natural break to let his hamstring heal before the season begins.
“I’m not concerned. I’m not,” McVay said. “One of the things that’s been great is he’s accumulated all this experience. He’s going to be ready to go and to prepare against Detroit. If we miss a couple of days this week, if that’s the approach that we take on the safer side, he’ll still have two and a half weeks of preparation for Detroit. Sometimes I think those breaks for these guys can almost be beneficial to keep them just fresh mentally. The toll of camp is real, especially when you talk to these guys, and I’m not saying Matthew feels this way. He’d have to tell you. You talk to Aaron (Donald), you talk to the (Andrew) Whitworths of the world and you talk about just the drudgery of training camp when there is some monotony and it’s hard to be able to stay locked in and do those things. Sometimes those natural breaks keep you fresh. That’s why I’m not concerned. Now, if you wanted to be able to get the work, of course, but I’m not concerned based on what I understand the tightness is and erring on the safe side of caution for this week if that’s what we end up having to do.”
When you consider the Rams’ history of injuries and McVay’s reluctance to share the intimate details of them (see: Todd Gurley’s knee), the slightest bit of doubt tends to creep in whenever a star player is hurt. But with Stafford’s hamstring, it really does seem like something minor.
Hopefully he’s able to suit up for Thursday’s joint practice with the Texans in Houston – the Rams’ final joint practice of the summer.