Rams coach Sean McVay announced Wednesday that Matthew Stafford wouldn’t participate in team drills for now. It has raised concerns about the quarterback’s elbow issue.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media has provided more clarity, reporting Stafford is dealing with “bad tendinitis.”
Stafford had a procedure this offseason, which previously was reported, but Rapoport called it platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections. The quarterback also wore a brace briefly to limit his range of motion while healing. He did not throw during the offseason workouts but obviously still is dealing with the issue into training camp.
Rams coach Sean McVay downplayed Stafford’s absence in team drills, saying rest is part of the plan.
“It’s consistent with what’s been going on,” McVay said Wednesday. “It’s just more of, when you really look at the totality of it, want to try to have him operate in as little as pain as possible. I think anytime that you’ve played as long and are as tough as he is, I don’t know if you’re ever truly pain-free, but the goal would be for Sept. 8 and really looking toward 17 games then hopefully some games after that if we earn that opportunity. That’s kind of the perspective and the big picture approach that we want to be able to take. I don’t know that I would feel as comfortable taking that approach if it wasn’t for the experience that he’s accumulated and knowing how intentional he is about staying up to speed with his mental and his physical work that he can do in the absence of some of the stuff in the team settings.”
Backup John Wolford will handle the starting reps in Stafford’s absence.