Super Bowl champion quarterback Matthew Stafford didn't throw during offseason work this spring as he dealt with an elbow issue. But he was back on the field Sunday as the Los Angeles Rams kicked off training camp work.
"It feels good to get out there," Stafford said, via the team's official transcript. "Definitely knocking some rust off and feeling it again. It's good to get out there and stress it a little bit and see how it reacts."
Stafford's elbow required an anti-inflammatory shot at one point this offseason, and the Rams rested him this offseason. He said Sunday the team would continue to monitor the situation as far as his workload goes.
"It's an interesting thing trying to have a little bit of governor on there, and at the same time, just trying to be as smart as I can," he said. "It's a process. Just going to have to sit there and work through it, trust it. We'll figure it out as we go."
Stafford noted the plan would "be fluid" in how much work he gets during camp. And coach Sean McVay said Stafford would be on a pitch count but didn't reach that mark in Sunday's first session.
"There's an element of, with all our players like that, part of it is just based on, we might have been going with the second and the third group right there," McVay said when asked if there was a number of throws he'd like Stafford to get each day. "So he was a full participant today. Like him having as much experience as he does, we will continue to build him up. We're aware of what that pitch count is, but it didn't restrict him from being able to do anything today."
Any issue with a quarterback's throwing arm is always notable, but the Rams don't sound concerned at this stage. The hope is that the rest this offseason will have their signal-caller fresh for the start of camp and able to handle the full workload as we ramp up to the regular season.
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