LA Rams' QB Matthew Stafford is ready to play the Bucs
With a few key players still in doubt ahead of the biggest game of their season, the Rams can be thankful that their play maker is feeling fine.
There's been a lot of talk about the problems that the Rams could pose for the Bucs. With their QB's assurances, things just got even more interesting.
Rams' Matthew Stafford is OK
The Los Angeles Rams will be breathing a collective sigh of relief, after quarterback Matthew Stafford made it clear that his injured toe won't be an issue, when his team takes on The Buccaneers in the NFL's divisional-round on Sunday. Stafford suffered the injury during the Rams' final game of the regular season, when they lost 27-24 in overtime to the San Francisco 49ers. The QB spoke on Wednesday of his progress saying, "I'm feeling OK. The toe kind of happened in that game and that was kind of a real thing, but I got a bunch of treatment on it. I'm feeling a lot better. So I don't see anything limiting me in this game."
Referring to the way in which the team was forced to adapt against the Cardinals, due to Stafford's injury - the Rams relied heavily on their running game - Rams' head coach Sean McVay endorsed his player's comments. "He felt good," McVay said. "Everything was up and available to be called. He was feeling great."
The Rams still have other injury worries
While Stafford's comments will give hope to the Rams camp, the fact remains that left tackle Andrew Whitworth and safety Taylor Rapp are still questionable ahead of Sunday's game. Where Whitworth specifically is concerned, he was sidelined after the Rams' very first play against Arizona. Speaking on Whitworth's status, McVay admitted he was impressed with his player's progress.
"He's got some swelling in that knee and that ankle. It's a miracle. ...It was not a good looking play when you watch it on the replay. But he's a resilient guy. He responds quickly. He's been a quick healer. For him to be able to play and start at tackle at the age of 40 tells you everything you need to know about how blessed he is with his genetics and the way he takes care of himself. But we'll see how quickly he can turn around. Not sure whether he'll be able to go or not this week. We'll take it a day at a time. Fortunately his scans gave us some information where we didn't have to rule him out."
As for Rapp, the safety also remains a doubt. Absent for the Cardinals game, Rapp is still under concussion protocols, however, there is hope. "With Rapp, we're just taking that a day at a time," McVay said. "The concussion protocol and kind of going through those strategic steps and making sure that when you are active, you're not having any symptoms. Those are the things we're working through right now and I know Taylor's going to do everything in his power to be ready if he can."