Matthew Stafford‘s Super Bowl defense didn’t get off to the best start when the QB was sidelined for much of the summer with an elbow issue. The veteran struggled for much of the regular season before ultimately landing on injured reserve in early December. With Stafford set to turn 35 years old in February while collecting a growing list of ailments, there have been some pundits questioning whether he could hang up his cleats following the 2022 campaign.
During an appearance on his wife’s podcast earlier this week, Stafford rejected the notion that he’d retire following the season. When asked by Kelly Stafford if he was planning on calling it a career, the QB quickly responded “oh no,” per Larry Holder of The Athletic.
Both Stafford and the Rams have generally downplayed his injuries. The quarterback’s elbow injury wasn’t expected to impact his throwing ability, and while his numbers were generally down across the board, the organization generally attributed the struggles to Stafford’s inability to develop a rapport with his offense prior to the regular season.
Stafford’s latest injury, a spinal cord contusion, isn’t expected to be a long-term issue and should still allow the veteran to enjoy a “healthy offseason.” Stafford also missed a pair of games this season while in concussion protocol. The former first-overall pick has generally been healthy throughout his career; after missing 19 games through his first two seasons in the NFL, Stafford only missed eight games over the following 11 years, with all of those games missed coming during the 2019 campaign.
Stafford also has plenty of financial incentive to stick around the NFL. The QB inked a four-year, $160MM deal with the Rams back in March, with the organization giving their Super Bowl-winning signal-caller $135MM in guaranteed money.
The trade was one thing, but that extension was asinine and unnecessary.
Hang up the cleats bro
During an appearance on his wife’s podcast earlier this week, Stafford rejected the notion that he’d retire following the season. When asked by Kelly Stafford if he was planning on calling it a career, the QB quickly responded “oh no,” per Larry Holder of The Athletic.
During. An Appearance. On his Wife’s. Podcast.
Pretty big guest, how did her producer book him? Schefter must be jealous.
No, for real…
Imagine being Stafford and having to not chuckle or smirk as your wife “books” you for her “podcast” as if she has a real job.
He’s got nothing left to prove in this league. Retire dude, long term health for you and your family is way better than overcoming injuries to play another season or 2
Mama needs a new pair of shoes!
What exactly is “nothing else to prove”? People are always saying it and it just feels like a platitude used to suggest you know better than a player if they should keep playing or not.
I agree. Plus, rich or not he’s still slated to make 40 mil per year for playing a game he loves to play.
I don’t think skill wise he’s finished. He just wasn’t ever right since that elbow injury. Hopefully he gets healthy and we see a full strength Stafford next year.
He received a cortisone shot in that elbow after the Super Bowl and it still didn’t heal. Something is wrong with that elbow and they are ignoring it. You would think that he would get it fixed now and be done but he is still doing nothing about it.
I doubt they’re ignoring it, just not publicizing it.
“… the organization generally attributed the struggles to Stafford’s inability to develop a rapport with his offense prior to the regular season.” I am amazed how Stafford’s pundits have had a LOT of excuses for him throughout his career.
Sounded like that was the team front office opinion, or excuse.
I’m not a Stafford apologist, no dog in this fight at all… but I’d attribute his falloff (as well as the lack of RB production) directly to playing with half an offensive line all year.
What better explanation for the night and day difference between 2021 and 2022, for both running and passing?
…that, or maybe also the absence of Kevin O’Connell at OC?
1. Anybody watching this year could tell his elbow is messed up. He had zero zip on that ball. Everything was soft and floated to people.
2. He has to try to come back with that extension. If he retires, the Rams will be looking to get back that $48 million signing bonus. He isn’t going to leave that on the table either. All he has to do is show up and not be cleared and he gets his money. Rams might have rut roh’d this one.
Better get him an offensive line. That’s the area McVay has ignored since he’s been there.
stafford still has enough gas left in the tank for two more good seasons AND the rams are on the hook for paying him. by the way, good for rams to reward the one guy (stafford) the most responsible for getting them over the hump to win the super bowl with an extension. as great as goff has been this year, he crumbles against good defenses time and time again while stafford rises to the challenge. finally, the reason stafford AND the rams struggled this season is on the hubris of mcvay and snead in their icarus-like approach to constructing an offensive line plus the injuries with the offensive line. there was zero chance any team could have been successful with this o-line.
Hey all Merry Christmas and for those that don’t celebrate America’s max out the CC day so the kids can be mad they didn’t get a phone again this year. To you I say Happy Holidays. If you don’t celebrate anything then go on and miss out. I think that would mostly be our Muslim brothers. Enjoy the holidays you observe.
Dussduss
Have 1 thing to say Goff has won more games this year than Stafford. That is how we do it here. You can’t bring Icarus up on this site. Half the guys that read it started searching for Icarus beer. None of that philosophy crap.
If the ewes take a QB in the draft Stafford will be a starter until the kid is ready. Then will be an expensive back up. They might be able to trade him at the deadline and eat some of his money. They can add it to the cap hell they are already in. Looks like the Seahawks and Whiners will be fighting it out down the road for awhile. If Pete has a draft as good as last year the gap will close faster than you think. Don’t give me the injured story we all deal with it some years more some less but nobody Scott free.
I didn’t forget the Tards but they ain’t winning with the coach they just extended and the little QB that runs like a cartoon character. Watch his legs oh sorry in 2 years watch them. He looks like one of the cartoon guys when their legs are turning and you see dust.
Stafford has too much money on the table to retire. Hopefully this won’t be the tragic story of the older QB raking in the cash who spends the rest of his life in a wheelchair after yet another injury to his already injured spine.
Yes, that same tragic story which made the NFL change the rules about mandatory retirement after a certain category of injuries, severity assessed via objective measurements by league physicians paid by the league and not the teams.
The NFL does not care about injuries they want a product on the field and there is another in the wings when 1 goes down. I have said this before if they cared they would make them wear mouth guards pull the pants over the knees and the proper size pad and a proper fitting helmet.
The knee pads are to pad against a player’s helmet hitting you in the knee. That is where a good portion of concussions come from. Pulling them up to make them look like shorts because it looks cool. Is idiotic. Then when they were down they used a piece of pad they would trace a quarter around and put that in.
The mouthpiece is for concussions not protecting teeth. I always believed it as many do. We had an NFL Ref come talk at one of our officials meetings. He was asked about mouthpiece and explained how they work. I don’t know why this new thing about having it hang from your face shields came from. I suppose it is look how tough I am. In honesty it is look how dumb I am.
The helmet is not made to flop around like wearing your dads hat when you were 5. It is supposed to be snug. Remember Peyton Manning? The marks on his forehead that is how they should fit. It is uncomfortable for awhile but you get used to it. We would take ours home from school and wear them around the house to get used to them.
I know this is an unpopular stance but until the NFL does something about these things it tells me they don’t care. Stafford could also work out a deal he retires and gets a percentage of his money and they can spread it out over time. The Rams will be in cap hell for a long time this would ease a little of the dead money.