The quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, Matthew Stafford, sprained his thumb in the UCL during Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. As was previously reported this week, Stafford is officially labeled as “day-to-day.”
If Stafford is sidelined for a long time, how will the Rams fill in at quarterback? Earlier this week, head coach Sean McVay offered his opinions on the matter, leaving open the prospect of adding a new signal caller to help offset some of the loss on the field.
“Yeah, that’s a safe possibility to say,” McVay said.
In fact, it seems that Los Angeles attempted to sign John Wolford, but he chose to remain in Tampa Bay, making Dresser Winn—who was in training camp with the team—the new front-runner.
Additionally, McVay gave an update on the situation regarding quarterback Stetson Bennett, who the team selected in the 2023 NFL Draft from the Georgia Bulldogs. Could Bennett—who played for Georgia in college and won national titles—be a good substitute for the injured Stafford in terms of playing time?
Simply said, most likely not.
“Yeah, he’s doing well,” McVay said of Bennett. “I would say there’s really no updates in regard to him returning back with us. I’m not ready to say that he won’t be back with us at all this year, but it’s probably less likely than it is likely he would be.”
In the NFL, the phrase “day-to-day” can refer to a variety of situations, but in Stafford’s instance, it seems to be a reasonable assessment of his condition. The Rams haven’t given any indication of when they want to have him back on the field; everything hinges on how quickly his thumb heals.
Indeed, according to McVay, “It’s solely a result of how quickly that thumb turns over.” It’s evident that there is considerable bruising and swelling. It’s an important component of football throwing ability. There are other factors at play because this is an injury from a past injury, and there is some scar tissue.
“It’s really about let’s see what happens over the next 24 to 48 hours in regard to just all of those things that I had kind of previously mentioned.”
Despite Stafford’s past history with this issue, McVay added that the Rams are not concerned about it happening again this season or in the future.