Matthew Stafford has been a full-go all offseason for the Rams this year, throwing every single day in practice with the exception of one planned rest day in camp. That’s a stark contrast to the workload he had in 2022 when he didn’t throw at all in the spring and was limited throughout camp.
It was due to his elbow injury, which carried over from 2021 and required an injection last offseason to subside some of the discomfort. The Rams downplayed it every step of the way, as did Stafford himself, but it’s obvious the injury was a bigger problem than initially perceived.
Andrew Whitworth is the latest person to come out and reveal just how much it impacted Stafford and the Rams as a whole. He said on the “Rich Eisen Show” that he wishes Stafford was on Netflix’s “Quarterback” series just so everyone could see what he was going through last year.
“I think people really don’t understand because he is such a private guy and somebody that would never complain or even ever let you know when he’s going through something,” Whitworth said. “Last year was a really, really tough year. It’s unfortunate he wasn’t on the ‘Quarterback’ series that just came out because it would’ve crazy for people to see just how intense his arm issues and things that were bothering him.”
How much should #RamsHouse be concerned about Cooper Kupp's injury? Will Matthew Stafford return to form? Can they overcome the youth movement?@AndrewWhitworth gave us a full report from his time at Rams Camp:#NFL #NFLPreseason @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/LtAjboGNCS
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) August 8, 2023
Whitworth was almost baffled by Stafford’s limited offseason in 2022. He can’t believe he went into the season getting in so little work throughout the spring and summer, not being able to go through his typical offseason regimen.
“He’s a private guy but I mean, to not throw a football with your guys the entire offseason basically,” Whitworth continued. “And then to get into camp and be like, ‘Hey, you can only throw so many balls a day and only so many times a week. To really have zero opportunities as a quarterback to throw passes to receivers and then walk into an NFL game and say, ‘All right, I’m gonna go out here and perform.’ One, you know that your arm is obviously not in a great place in how it’s feeling. And two, just having that ability to throw passes in practice and work at your craft. And that’s what every quarterback does. You see them after practice constantly working on certain things. To not have the ability to do that, man, just the mental state he had to be in of struggling. Like, ‘Hey, I want to go out here and perform. I want to live up to the expectations, but right now, I’m in a situation I can’t.’”
A lot of people are down on Stafford this year after he threw just 10 touchdown passes and eight interceptions in nine games last season, but the Rams still have high expectations for him. They picked up his option this offseason, keeping him as their starting quarterback for years to come.
And now that he’s healthy again, he should be poised for a bounce-back year as a passer. But it’s clear we didn’t get the full story of just how bad his elbow injury was in 2022, and how much it hindered him on the field.
