Stafford makes training camp 

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The big deal on the first day of training camp for the Los Angeles Rams was the presence of quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford looked pretty good, Rams head coach Sean McVay said. 

“I thought he did really well,” McVay quipped. “I thought overall…and I’ll always go back and look at the tape, but I thought it was a good competitive day. Really good back and forth…offense and defense. There was some really good execution on both sides of the football and like anything else, there will always be things that we can clean up.” 

“His command and his communication…I thought he got through some progressions really well and obviously finished the day with a great red zone touchdown to TE Davis Allen. So that was a good positive,” McVay added. 

Stafford is headed into his fourth year with the ballclub. Stafford gave the Rams what they wanted in his first season with the team: a championship. 

He guided the Rams to a playoff appearance last season, bouncing back from a second season in which he had to miss the latter part due to an injury. To get to year four, the Rams and Stafford had to work to avoid a contract impasse collision course, which they managed to do. 

Getting the financials out of the way gives Stafford a sense of relief to get that weight off his shoulders.    

“Yeah, I don’t know if that’s the right word,” Stafford said. “I’m just happy to be where I am. I’m happy to be out here playing football. Love doing it. Love doing it with this group and just excited about the year to come, to be honest with you. That’s all that matters to me.”

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— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) July 25, 2024

What also matters to Stafford is being present. The unseen drama of contract negotiations didn’t stop Stafford from attending OTAs. It didn’t stop him from making it to training camp, either.

“I don’t even think about that kind of stuff, to be honest with you,” Stafford said. “In this business, I’m play-to-play, day-to-day and I’m moment-to-moment so I’m happy to be doing this. Today was a great start for our team, which was really fun to be out there with these guys.

“We have some guys back that haven’t been out on the field for a while so it’s great to see those guys come out and practice. Shoot, we haven’t done this in a while so it’s nice to be out here and throw it around to let these guys do their thing,” Stafford went on to say.

The 2024 NFL season will be Stafford’s 16th in the NFL. Last season, Stafford looked like every bit of the quarterback who directed his team to a Super Bowl win against the Cincinnati Bengals. In other words, Stafford has not had a dropoff for the last three seasons.  

 In that first season with the Rams, the ageless Stafford passed 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns against 17 interceptions during the regular season. 

In 2023, Stafford re-elevated his elite status as one of the best signal-callers in the league by completing 62 percent of his passes and throwing for 3,965 yards and 24 touchdowns.  

In a year that was predicted by many to be a rebuilding season for the Rams, Stafford led the team on an unexpected run to a wild-card playoff spot. 

Fast forward to OTAs and training camp, Stafford has shown up and has put in the work, showing off his leadership qualities. With Aaron Donald now retired, how Stafford leads the team will be paramount. 

“Yeah, I’m just going to continue to be myself, right? The best kind of leadership, in my opinion, is authentic leadership,” Stafford remarked. “That was what was so great about AD, to be honest with you. He was who he was on the football field. We all respected him for it and he was an unbelievable guy to follow. 

“I’m going to continue to just be myself and let these guys know what I’m all about, come out here, try and lead this team and push these guys as best I possibly can the way that I know how.”