Rams take an extreme measure with Matthew Stafford's back injury

Stafford made 16 appearances last season, completing 65.8 percent of his passes for 3,762 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions. 

Those numbers were somewhat underwhelming for a passer of his caliber, but it also had to do with Kyren Williams' emergence out of the backfield.

Now, with Davante Adams in the mix to replace Cooper Kupp, Sean McVay needs his signal-caller to be back at his best.

His chemistry with budding star Puka Nacua is among the best in the game, and he's already been responsible for two of the greatest WR seasons in NFL history: one with Calvin Johnson and one with Kupp.

At the end of the day, Stafford is more than familiar with the offense, and he doesn't need that many reps to get in game shape.

But given his recent history of back injuries and the great lengths he's going to numb the pain, the Rams must err on the side of caution and make sure he gets back to full strength before sending him back out there.

In the meantime, veteran Jimmy Garoppolo should be more than capable of holding down the fort.