The Los Angeles Rams got some excellent news Monday. After weeks of uncertain injury updates, quarterback Matthew Stafford finally returned to practice.
The Rams got out in front of the news, immediately tweeting out a picture of Stafford taking the field in a red practice jersey. Stafford took part in drills and did enough to impress Rams head coach Sean McVay in limited work, per ESPN.
“I thought he did a good job today,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “We had 26 plays of team, and he did a really nice job of managing the huddle. I thought he saw the field well, I thought he went where the ball should go and there was some good competitive work on both sides today.”
Despite Stafford’s return, McVay opted to play things carefully, deeming Stafford as day-to-day and week-to-week. McVay called it a “very fluid” situation. McVay called it “great” that Stafford was able to get back to practice and said the team will see how he responds the rest of the day and tomorrow.
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Stafford’s return should come as a welcome surprise for Rams fans, who have been given murky updates about the quarterback’s back injury throughout training camp. After Stafford missed time early, the team said he was dealing with an aggravated disc in his back. Stafford reportedly received an epidural to try and solve the issue.
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It appeared the situation was close to resolving last week, even reaching a point where McVay said Stafford would appear at practice for the next part of his recovery. That didn’t happen, prompting more questions about Stafford’s status. McVay seemed less certain about Stafford’s status after that miscue, leading to some to wonder if the issue was more serious than initially reported. That no longer appears to be the case following Stafford’s return to the field Monday.
As long as Stafford does not experience any setbacks, he’ll have almost three weeks to re-acclimate to the game before the Rams take on the Houston Texans in Week 1.
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