The Los Angeles Lakers needed some rest and had several injured players, so the bye week was just what they needed.
With Matthew Stafford sidelined with a UCL sprain to his thumb against the Dallas Cowboys, the Rams were severely lacking in personnel for their Week 9 matchup with the Green Bay Packers. Despite Stafford’s best efforts, the team finally felt it was best for him to sit out the game against Green Bay.
Stafford is one of the hardest players in the game and often plays through injuries, but it wasn’t worth exacerbating the sprain in his thumb since it would impair his throwing abilities. In an indication that he might fill in for Stafford for their Week 11 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles signed Carson Wentz as a backup.
But according to The Pat McAfee Show, Stafford seems to be improving and could be able to return after the bye:
“Thumb’s feeling better than I thought it would,” Stafford said. “I was a little bit scared in the Dallas game that it was gonna be worse than it was and just happy that it’s not. I’m gonna do everything I can to be out there. I love playing this game and love competing, so I’m gonna do whatever I need to do to be out there.”
Given that Stafford has not experienced any setbacks and is ready to return to the field, this is undoubtedly wonderful news for the Rams. Hopefully, he can get some practice done since Los Angeles needs him badly to get the offense back on track.
A loss to the Seahawks would very certainly assure the Rams will miss the playoffs, as they are currently 3-6. But, watching Stafford play well in the last games of the season will greatly boost the franchise’s confidence in his ability to return the team to the postseason in 2024.
Details of Carson Wentz’s contract
In place of Stafford against the Packers, Brett Rypien got the start, but he failed to move the ball, leaving much to be desired. Los Angeles made the decision to dismiss Rypien and sign Carson Wentz a few days later.
Wentz’s NFL career has seen multiple stops, and the specifics of his deal were made public.