Throughout much of the offseason, there have been some questions regarding the status of quarterback Matthew Stafford and left tackle Alaric Jackson for Week 1. According to head coach Sean McVay, Stafford is expected to start. While McVay wasn’t didn’t have as much conviction with Jackson, the Rams head coach did say that the play was for Jackson to start against the Houston Texans.
Stafford missed the entirety of training camp with an aggravated disc in his back. The Rams quarterback received an epidural and didn’t practice fully until a few weeks ago. His first full practice since OTAs came on August 18th and Stafford has been practicing ever since.
The situation for Jackson is a little bit more fluid. While the Rams remain optimistic, Jackson’s blood clots are something that will need to be monitored throughout the season. Still, the plan right now is for Jackson to play and start against the Texans on Sunday.
For Stafford, there hasn’t ever been a ton of concern about whether or not he would play Week 1. Stafford has been one of the tougher quarterbacks in the league throughout his career. The questions will start to arise after Stafford takes his first hit and takes on a full game’s workload. How the physicality and wear and tear of an NFL season will be something to monitor.
When it comes to Jackson, he’ll be someone to monitor on a weekly basis. Last season, Christian Barmore played his first game after managing blood clots on November 16. On December 19, the Patriots defensive lineman was placed back on injured reserve. This isn’t necessarily an issue that’s just going to go away.
A full injury report won’t be released until Wednesday. However, this is good news for the Rams as they head into an important Week 1 matchup.
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