To say the Los Angeles Rams had a disappointing campaign last year is an understatement. Sean McVay‘s team was the reigning Super Bowl champion, but Matthew Stafford and company looked like a shell of themselves in the 2022 NFL season.
However, there’s a reason the quarterback who played at an incredibly high level the previous season was suddenly struggling only a few months later. Stafford suffered an elbow injury that held him back the rest of the year.
McVay didn’t like to talk too much about it, but this year he admits the 35-year-old is in a much better place. After seeing him in minicamp, the coach likes his chances ahead of this season.
Sean McVay says having Matthew Stafford healthy makes all the difference
“I don’t think I realized it or anybody [did], and he would never say it because he’s so tough, the amount of pain that he was working through, how limited he was,” McVay told reporters this week, via SB Nation. “But to have our quarterback — the command, the way that he really elevates [the team], his communication skills — it’s been huge for us. He makes a significant difference.“
Injuries were a huge problem for the Rams last year. Apart from his elbow surgery earlier in the year, Stafford suffered a concussion and spinal cord contusion, for instance. But with their star QB healthy, the team hopes things can be different this time.