The Los Angeles Rams will appear to have veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford ready for Week 1. However, CBS Sports’ Mike Renner is sounding the alarm regarding the signal caller’s back.
Should the Rams want to return to the playoffs and be a contender in the NFC, they’ll need a healthy Stafford to do so. Nonetheless, Renner is skeptical that the 37-year-old can stay healthy this season.
“If a guy can’t even practice, if it’s so bad—your back—that you can’t even practice, you can’t even just throw on air, what’s it going to be like when a 350-pounder lands on top of you Week 1?” Renner said on CBS Sports HQ. “I am worried about him making it through a full season healthy.”
Are the Rams Contenders if Matthew Stafford Misses Time?
Stafford completed 65.8 percent of his passes last season, recording 3,762 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and eight interceptions for the Rams. Moreover, Stafford had the Rams on the verge of beating the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs.
Los Angeles have an insurance policy behind Stafford in veteran Jimmy Garoppolo should Stafford continue to have injury issues at any point this season. Regardless, Renner believes that the entire squad could crumble like a house of cards if the Rams have to deal with injuries to key positions.
“We’ve seen in the past, now they have Jimmy G, maybe it’s a little bit better backup situation,” Renner said. “But we’ve seen in the past when they’ve had injuries along the offensive line or injuries at quarterback, it just has not been good there in Los Angeles.
“So not a lot of people used to have a bad back. Usually, it’s something that sticks with him. He takes too many hits this year; I don’t know how we see him getting through 17 games healthy, given the information we have now.”
Will Jimmy Garoppolo See Time for Los Angeles?
With Week 1 fast approaching, it will be interesting to see how Stafford handles his back injury throughout the season. ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote a bold prediction piece on August 27, stating that Garoppolo will see the field sometime this season, even though Stafford will attempt to tough out any injury.
My understanding is that this isn’t something the Rams expect to sideline Stafford for a long period of time or affect his play early in the season, but that it is something that will need to be monitored and managed throughout the season,” Graziano wrote.
“That means there could come a week when Stafford feels he can’t play through it. And that’s where you could see backup Garoppolo — who started one game last season — having to step in and keep things humming. Again, I expect Stafford to tough this out and make it through the season.”
The lone game that Garoppolo played in was in Week 17 in a 30-25 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The two-time Super Bowl champion completed 65.9 percent of his passes, registered 334 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Garoppolo could step up whenever the team needs him to step in for Stafford.
CBS Sports Analyst Sounds Alarm on Rams’ Matthew Stafford