Matthew Stafford left Sunday’s game against the Saints after taking a third-quarter sack, heading to the locker room where he was evaluated for a concussion. He didn’t return to the game, playing it safe after he just cleared the concussion protocol this past week.
After the 27-20 loss, Sean McVay was asked about Stafford’s status and condition. He said the team felt it was in Stafford’s best interest to hold him out of the game, not putting him at further risk of injury.
McVay also feels it’s too soon to talk about shutting Stafford down for the rest of the season with the Rams sitting at 3-7.
“I think it’s probably too soon for me to be able to answer that one,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that we’re working through that are, I would say, unprecedented. What I do appreciate is the way guys continue to battle, continue to try to compete, and we’re gonna coach these guys up that we’ve got. As far as it relates to Matthew, we’re gonna be smart for him. He’s such a warrior, he’s such a stud competitor. I know how badly he wants to be out there and thought he played really well with the opportunities that he did have.”
The NFC may not be loaded right now, but in order for the Rams to make the playoffs, they’ll likely need to win at least nine or 10 games. That means they can’t lose more than one game down the stretch, and even 10-7 may not be good enough depending on tiebreakers.
Bryce Perkins did a decent job in relief of Stafford on Sunday, but this team isn’t going anywhere without No. 9 on the field. His health comes before everything else, though.
