Matthew Stafford's placement on the injured reserve Saturday guaranteed the quarterback would miss at least four games, but head coach Sean McVay told reporters following a 27-23 loss to the Seahawks that Stafford is likely out for the remainder of the year due to a spinal cord contusion.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday morning that the issue in Stafford's neck is still causing numbness in his legs. Sources told Rapoport that the Rams did not initially shut their franchise QB down due to their record.
However, it makes sense to practice the utmost caution given the location of the injury -- especially now that Los Angeles has dropped to 3-9 on the season.
Stafford made nine starts this year and struggled to find a rhythm, passing for 2,087 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions as Los Angeles plummeted to a bottom-five team in both scoring and yards.
Some of that failure to jell might have been due to an injury-marred 2022. Stafford had gone through concussion protocol twice before going on IR with the neck injury, and an elbow issue plagued him throughout the offseason.
Now that his season is likely over, he'll be turning his focus to getting healthy and figuring out what went wrong in a lost season for the Super Bowl champs.
