Matthew Stafford injury update: NFL Insider emphasizes upcoming week in Rams’ QB’s recovery

Rams QB Matthew Stafford has still been limited with the back issue during the team’s next stretch of camp, with this week being a joint practice the past few days with the Dallas Cowboys. Now, as far as his rehab goes, Saturday sounds to be crucial in where he stands for the remainder of the month through the preseason.

On ‘Get Up’ on Friday, ESPN’s Dan Graziano provided the latest on Stafford’s back injury. He noted that Stafford is expected to work out tomorrow prior to the preseason matchup between Dallas and Los Angeles. His status will be better determined then going into next week’s joint practices with the LA Chargers.

“Matthew Stafford has been sitting out with a back issue. The Rams plan – and Sean McVay, their head coach, said yesterday this has been the plan all along – is to work him out before tomorrow’s preseason game and, assuming he feels good off of that, work him into practice next week,” said Graziano. “They have a joint practice next week against the Chargers. They’ll hold him out of that because they just want to put him into as controlled an environment as possible. But, this is what we’re keeping an eye on. If Stafford feels good enough after tomorrow’s pregame workout to return to the practice field next week, that will tell us that the Rams’ plans for him, getting him ready for week one, is on track. He has a setback tomorrow or early next week? Then there will be reason for concern in LA.”

“He’s due to get a workout it in on the day of our preseason game where he’s going to throw, and that was on par with the schedule that we always had. You’ll see him in practice next week. He won’t participate in the Chargers practice just because of – we’re looking at it like he’s got an acclimation period that’ll really start on Saturday once we play the Cowboys,” McVay said to start out with the media on Thursday. “Saturday, for the guys not playing in that preseason game, will represent a great opportunity for Matthew to really start getting out on the field with his guys. And then, whenever we come back on Monday, you’ll start to see him take part in individuals, all those things, which is exactly what was on par with the plan. And then you’ll start to see him get into practice with our group…You’ll just continue to see his workload increase as long as he is feeling good. But, that’s not any new news, maybe you have a little bit more parameters but this has all been part of the original plan all along.”

Of those on the panel, Graziano didn’t seem too concerned as he trusts what the Rams’ have said about and done for Stafford’s injury, an aggravated disc leading to back pain and soreness with him receiving an epidural shot for it, to this point. Still, if this continues as it’s been into next week, that’s when he’ll have some worries about it with the season now being less than a month from kicking off.

“Yeah, I think, obviously, any time you have a setback, especially within a month of the start of the regular season, that would be a concern. But, I haven’t detected a lot of concern out of the Rams on this. Their training staff, their coaching staff has experience in managing players, including Matthew Stafford, through some training camp health issues and getting them ready to play,” Graziano said. “So, to this point, I feel like we can take their word for it that it’s on track. If there’s a change in the plan involving his practice schedule next week? Then I think we all have license to worry.”

ESPN’s Damien Woody, though, has been pretty concerned about this over the course of camp, calling it “the story of the preseason”. That’s with a back being a notable injury that’s also currently costing him snaps going into this season in LA.

“I’ve been saying it. It’s the story of the preseason. It really is,” said Woody. “I mean, you’re talking about a guy who hasn’t taken one snap in practice – one. Now, you know, obviously they’re talking about this workout and if everything goes well then he’ll take the next step. But, listen. Matthew Stafford is a guy that’s had a laundry list of injuries throughout his career and, when you’re dealing with a back? That is no joke.”

“So, I’m just – it’s a big deal,” Woody thought. “I’m waiting to see what this workout is going to look like if I’m going to DEFCON One or not.”

With that, Stafford will have eyes on him tomorrow afternoon to see how he responds in this apparently important workout. That’s with it possibly determining his status coming into the third week of training camp, if not longer, with an intra-city portion for the team coming up next week with the Chargers.