After Matthew Stafford practiced for the first time in nearly a month on Monday, Sean McVay tempered expectations by saying the Los Angeles Rams are still taking it a day at a time. As excited as he was to have Stafford on the field again, he wanted to see how his back would respond in the coming days.
He seems to be progressing quite well because Stafford practiced for the fourth straight day on Thursday, a huge step in the recovery process. He was a full participant on Monday and Tuesday, took part in the jog-through on Wednesday and was back on the field again Thursday as a full participant.
That marks a full week of practice for Stafford because the Rams will be off on Friday before this weekend’s preseason finale. It’s similar to the amount of work he’d get in during a normal game week when the Rams practice from Wednesday to Friday before a Sunday kickoff.
There wasn’t much optimism about Stafford’s back last week when he wasn’t practicing, but now that he’s on the field again, the level of concern for Week 1 is dropping. As long as there aren’t any setbacks, it appears he’ll have a good chance to play in the opener against the Texans on Sept. 7.
McVay said earlier this week that he hopes Stafford continues to stack days and he’s done just that. It’s a big deal that Stafford was able to complete a full week of practice with no setbacks, putting him on track to be ready for the start of the season.
The Rams do have Jimmy Garoppolo as a fallback option but there’s nothing quite like having Stafford under center.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams QB Matthew Stafford practices for 4th straight day, completing a full week
Reporting by Cameron DaSilva, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
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