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Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and head coach Sean McVay downplayed Stafford’s right elbow injury in a chat with reporters at training camp Saturday.
“I don’t know if you guys were watching, I felt like I could make any throw I wanted to today,” Stafford said, per Coral Smith of NFL.com. “I’m just trying to be smart when I get those opportunities to make sure I can come out here, cut it loose, turn it loose like I did today and go from there.”
“He threw it all over the yard today, looked really good, felt good. We’re very much on track with what we had hoped and I think you could really see,” McVay said, per Smith. “The ball was jumping out of his hand, making all types of throws, and so I think he was trying to show you guys that there’s probably not many questions you can ask him either based on how he felt in the way he was throwing it around today.”
Stafford is experiencing “bad tendinitis” in his elbow, per a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Ian Rapoport @RapSheet
From Inside Training Camp: <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rams?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Rams</a> QB Matthew Stafford is dealing with a tendon issue in his throwing elbow that’ll limit his throwing in practice. <a href=”https://t.co/VDSOswmsDI”>pic.twitter.com/VDSOswmsDI</a>
Stafford dealt with a host of injuries last year, including arm, elbow, ankle and back ailments, according to ESPN’s Dianna Russini.
The 34-year-old played through the pain and ended up leading the Rams to their second-ever Lombardi Trophy.
McVay sounded more optimistic Saturday than he did Friday when he expressed the complexity of the elbow issue.
Stafford had an anti-inflammatory injection in his arm last spring, and he didn’t participate in offseason team activities because of the issue.
The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue also noted that Stafford wasn’t expected to participate in team drills until after the Rams returned from their training camp at UC Irvine back home to their Thousand Oaks, California practice facility. L.A. wraps up training camp Wednesday in Irvine.
Stafford played all 21 games (17 regular-season, four playoff) for the Rams last season. He completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 41 touchdowns (17 interceptions) and 4,886 passing yards. Stafford’s excellent rapport with wideout Cooper Kupp served as the catalyst for the Rams offense improving from 22nd to seventh in scoring in 2021.
As of now, it appears the Rams are trying to manage an ongoing issue. The regular season is also a full month away as L.A. is set to open things up against the Buffalo Bills at home Sept. 8.
However, if Stafford has to miss time this season for any ailment, then L.A. will turn toward backup John Woolford.
The three-year pro out of Wake Forest has played one full game in his career when he suited up for an injured Jared Goff to close the 2020 regular season. Woolford completed 22 of 38 passes for 231 yards (one interception) and rushed six times for 56 yards to lead L.A. to a 18-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Signal-callers Bryce Perkins and Luis Perez are also on the Rams roster at this time.
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