{"id":114577,"date":"2025-08-03T03:06:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T03:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/114577\/"},"modified":"2025-08-03T03:06:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T03:06:09","slug":"rams-qb-matthew-stafford-visits-back-specialist-remains-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/114577\/","title":{"rendered":"Rams QB Matthew Stafford visits back specialist, remains out"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Matthew Stafford<\/a> will apparently remain an observer for a while.<\/p>\n

The Rams<\/a> star quarterback, who has not practiced during training camp because of a back issue, will \u201cprobably not\u201d practice Sunday in the final workout at Loyola Marymount, will not participate in Tuesday\u2019s joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys, and his availability for a joint practice with the Chargers the following week will be determined, coach Sean McVay<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

Stafford, 37, saw back specialist Dr. Steven Watkins again on Saturday, McVay said.<\/p>\n

McVay reiterated that Stafford was \u201cweek to week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I don\u2019t want to do is set a timeline,\u201d McVay said. \u201cI know he\u2019s making good progress. He saw Dr. Watkins again. … Everything is in good shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good shape?<\/p>\n

McVay does not play starters in preseason games, so joint practices are regarded by the ninth-year coach as instrumental for evaluating young players and progress by the offense, defense and special teams.<\/p>\n

Stafford, entering his 17th season, worked with new receiver Davante Adams<\/a> during offseason workouts. But he has yet to work on timing with the three-time All-Pro during a full-speed, padded practice.<\/p>\n

Veteran Jimmy Garoppolo<\/a> continues to take first-team reps in Stafford\u2019s place, and Stetson Bennett is directing the second-unit offense as the Rams prepare for their Sept. 7 opener against the Houston Texans at SoFi Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t wait to be able to get Matthew back out here leading the way,\u201d McVay said, adding that Stafford felt the same way. \u201cBut in the meantime, Stetson and Jimmy are doing a really good job of continuing to get better and using these reps for their benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stafford was one of several players who did not practice Saturday.<\/p>\n

Rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson<\/a> (groin) and defensive lineman Kobie Turner<\/a> (back) sat out. Linebacker Nate Landman<\/a> (calf) left practice as a precautionary measure, McVay said.<\/p>\n

But Stafford\u2019s continued absence from on-field drills continues to be the dominant storyline for a team that will be regarded as a legitimate Super Bowl contender if he is physically sound. And a question mark \u2014 at least on offense \u2014 if he is not.<\/p>\n

After practicing with the Cowboys in Oxnard, the Rams and Cowboys will play Saturday at SoFi Stadium. The Rams play the Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Aug. 16, and they conclude the preseason on Aug. 23 against the Browns in Cleveland.<\/p>\n

The Rams then have two weeks to prepare for the Texans.<\/p>\n

Etc.<\/p>\n

Safety Quentin Lake<\/a> intercepted another tipped pass. Safety Jaylen McCollough also intercepted a pass. … Tight end Colby Parkinson made a one-handed touchdown catch. … Bennett connected with rookie receiver Konata Mumpfield<\/a> on several impressive pass plays. \u201cHe\u2019s a mature rookie,\u201d McVay said of Mumpfield. \u201cHe\u2019s a guy that is wired to be able to separate. … He continues to be able to just answer the bell with the opportunities that he\u2019s gotten.\u201d … Former Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald attended practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Matthew Stafford will apparently remain an observer for a while. The Rams star quarterback, who has not practiced…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":114578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,72011,72009,2505,72005,2961,224,5337,72006,7313,6566,72007,5395,72012,72010,58326,72008,72004,2452],"class_list":{"0":"post-114577","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-coach-sean-mcvay","11":"tag-first-team-rep","12":"tag-houston-texans","13":"tag-joint-practice","14":"tag-la","15":"tag-los-angeles","16":"tag-losangeles","17":"tag-mcvay","18":"tag-opener","19":"tag-place","20":"tag-rams-qb-matthew-stafford","21":"tag-saturday","22":"tag-second-unit-offense","23":"tag-sept","24":"tag-sofi-stadium","25":"tag-specialist-dr-steven-watkins","26":"tag-stafford","27":"tag-week"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114962627573886875","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}