After the 2022 season created long-term questions for Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback rebounded to accelerate a Rams retooling effort. Stafford received a significant contract adjustment this offseason as a result of that reemergence.
But the back issue he has been dealing with is lingering. The quarterback is still sidelined due to an aggravated disk in his back, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes. The 37-year-old passer has since received an epidural injection. While the Rams are expecting their standout QB to be ready for Week 1, this is certainly a situation to closely monitor considering Stafford’s age and injury history.
The Rams are labeling this a week-to-week situation, with Rapoport indicating the team is exercising caution with an aim for a regular-season debut on time. But the 17th-year veteran has been dealing with this nagging concern for over a week already. Jimmy Garoppolo, who obviously has a checkered injury past, re-signed as L.A.’s backup this offseason. Garoppolo is attached to a one-year, $3MM contract.
Although Stafford’s injury past includes stretches in which he was unable to play, the former 12-year Lions starter has regularly suited up in spite of various maladies. He may need to do so again, and Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio indicates L.A.’s fifth-year QB1 is on track to return to on-field work this week.
Stafford entered the 2022 season after a nagging elbow injury altered his offseason, and the QB ended up missing much of the campaign due to a spinal cord contusion. The Rams were willing to discuss a trade during the 2023 offseason, but guaranteed money made it unrealistic coming off an injury-plagued season. From 2023-24, however, Stafford only missed one game for health reasons. This led to a minor 2024 contract update and a pivotal tweak this year. The Rams gave Stafford a $40MM guarantee, with another $40MM becoming guaranteed on Day 5 of the 2026 league year.
The Giants and Raiders aggressively pursued Stafford, with each suitor preparing substantial guarantee packages totaling at least $90MM to bring him in. Both situations did not compare to the security Stafford has enjoyed under Sean McVay, and the QB opted to regroup with the Rams. While the extension the former No. 1 overall pick signed in 2022 (four years, $160MM) still runs through 2026, the trade interest led the Rams to make a bigger commitment in terms of guarantees at this juncture of the deal.
Garoppolo, 33, is in Year 2 with the Rams. He missed two games before being benched during a Raiders one-off but was among the NFL’s most injury-prone players during his 49ers tenure. Garoppolo’s foot fracture in December 2022 ended that run, keying Brock Purdy‘s rise. Garoppolo missed 32 regular-season games due to injury in San Francisco. With Stafford uncertainty lingering, the 12th-year vet’s injury past is again relevant. For the time being, however, Garoppolo is at the controls with an expected Super Bowl contender.
Heck of QB… Age is a number until not they say…