Matthew Stafford embodies the word tough, but the Los Angeles Rams star put that to the test and more this past year.
The Los Angeles Rams endured a rollercoaster season that ended last Sunday. LA lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in snowy Philly in the NFC Divisional Round. The Rams defeated the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card Round, and in the last two seasons have managed to make the playoffs thanks in large part to their star quarterback.
The Super Bowl champion Stafford has played through a lot of injuries and wounds over the year. According to his wife Kelly, the former No. 1 overall pick did that again in 2024.
Kelly commented on her husband‘s status on The Morning After, saying he played with broken ribs following the team’s Week 15 win over the rival San Francisco 49ers.
Stafford has been in the NFL since the 2009 season. The Detroit Lions drafted him first overall that year out of the University of Georgia. Stafford played in Detroit from 2009-2020. After the 2020 season, the Lions dealt him to Los Angeles in exchange for Jared Goff. Since that trade, the Rams have won the Super Bowl and made the playoffs two more times. Detroit has earned their own success, and defeated Stafford’s Rams last winter in an intense playoff game.
Time will tell how much time Stafford has left in him. He’s played at an incredible level at an extremely demanding position for a very long time. All of that rolls into a lot of mileage.
But that man just keeps on ticking. So who knows when he’ll decide to stop? Based on his performance after Week 15, he’s not showing any signs of letting up soon.
Stafford has amassed 59,809 passing yards in his illustrious career, with 377 career touchdowns in 222 career games.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022