Recent weeks have shown that Matthew Stafford’s health is a major factor in the Los Angeles Rams’ success this season.
The Rams have had a chance in each game that Stafford has participated in. But they were blown out and lost to the subpar Green Bay Packers the next week after the quarterback hurt his thumb against the Cowboys.
After the Rams’ bye, Stafford was cleared to play again. Despite his sprained thumb not feeling fully recovered, he led the Rams to consecutive division victories, putting L.A. back in the running for the playoffs at 5-6.
As the regular season nears its conclusion, Stafford disclosed that his thumb continues to require attention, despite improving every week.
The whole way back isn’t covered. Stafford stated, “I still have to take the necessary steps to get it feeling right in terms of tape and other support systems. The stuff I can work with is, however, unquestionably a little bit more streamlined than it was in Seattle. It appears that the control is returning to some extent, allowing you to adjust and modify some of those final throws as you release them. The trend is undoubtedly positive, even though it hasn’t completely returned.”
Stafford is optimistic that he will eventually be able to return to full strength and won’t have to play through the injury for the duration of the season.
“Yes, I do hope so. Yes, I believe that. What’s that? Is this coming weekend’s Dallas game four weeks away? Therefore, four weeks isn’t that long for what we have going on. It can, in my opinion, still improve.”
Over the past few weeks, Stafford has proven that he is as tough as they come at quarterback. In the victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 12, he completed four touchdown passes.
The hope is that Stafford doesn’t experience any setbacks and keeps getting better health-wise every week because, despite his limitations, he still gives the Rams a chance to win every week.
Although Carson Wentz is an improvement over Brett Rypien as the backup quarterback for the Rams, it is ideal for him to not play any significant snaps for Los Angeles anytime soon.