The Los Angeles Rams are getting their quarterback back.
Head coach Sean McVay told reporters Saturday night that the team plans to have quarterback Matthew Stafford make his training camp debut on Monday. The 37-year-old veteran threw upwards of 60 passes with no limitations on Saturday, McVay said, which has given the Rams enough confidence to reintegrate Stafford back into practice in the coming week.
Stafford had missed all of the Rams’ practices this summer while dealing with a back injury. After the initial prognosis suggesting the quarterback would only miss about a week of practice, McVay announced in late July that Stafford would continue to miss time as the back issues continued.
On Wednesday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Stafford was ‘dealing with an aggravated disc’ in his back and had an epidural shot to relieve the pain. Evidently, the epidural has done enough to move Stafford one step closer to officially making his return.
Backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had been taking the first-team snaps in Stafford’s stead with third-year Stetson Bennett behind him.
Bennett played almost the entirety of the Rams’ 31-21 win over the Dallas Cowboys in the two teams’ preseason opener Saturday, only exiting the game ahead of Los Angeles’ final possession. Fourth-stringer Dresser Winn kneeled the clock out to secure the victory.