Heading into the 2025 NFL season, one of the biggest questions surrounding the Los Angeles Rams has been the status of starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has been riding the rollercoaster of a back injury all summer long.
Fortunately, with a Week 1 showdown against the Houston Texans rapidly approaching, McVay told reporters that he expects Stafford to be ready to go Sunday at SoFi Stadium, as passed along by NFL Insider Ian Rapoport.
“Rams coach Sean McVay tells reporters that he expects QB Matthew Stafford to start this Sunday vs. the Texans,” Rapoport wrote.
At 37 years old, Stafford is already one of the oldest quarterbacks in the NFL, with 222 regular-season games on his resume plus 10 more in postseason action. Over his four seasons in Los Angeles, Stafford has appeared in 57 of a possible 68 regular-season games, including 16 last season, and has proven resilient for McVay's squad, even if he's had to play through plenty of injuries along the way.
But as quarterbacks get older, injuries become harder to come back from with some openly wondering if this could be the beginning of the end for Stafford in Los Angeles.
Facing off against a Texans team that mildly disappointed last season versus expectations largely because of the regressed play of CJ Stroud, the Rams are still favorites to not only win in Week 1 but win the NFC West once more, with ESPN giving them a 55.6 percent chance of starting off the season 1-0.
If Stafford can't play, however, and Jimmy Garoppolo is thrust into action, it's hard to imagine a world where that number stays the same, even if McVay believes his backup quarterback is starting-caliber heading into his 12th professional season.
