ESPN’s New Prediction Spells Bad News for Rams’ Matthew Stafford

Leading up to the start of the 2025 NFL season, there has been a lot of concern about Los Angeles Rams star quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Stafford has been dealing with a back injury that forced him to miss all of the preseason and a very large chunk of practice. He’s back on the field now and is expected to begin the year as the Rams’ starting quarterback, but that has brought up concern about the future.

Can Los Angeles be certain that Stafford will remain healthy? Unfortunately, that isn’t a guarantee that the team can make to itself.

With that in mind, a new prediction has been made that would be very bad news for the 37-year-old quarterback.

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ESPN’s Dan Graziano has suggested that Jimmy Garoppolo could see some playing time this season. That would insinuate the Rams’ quarterback missing time due to his back injury during the season.

“That means there could come a week when Stafford feels he can’t play through it. And that’s where you could see backup Garoppolo — who started one game last season — having to step in and keep things humming,” Graziano wrote. “Again, I expect Stafford to tough this out and make it through the season; this Rams team has him convinced he can win another Super Bowl before he’s done. But it might not always be the smoothest process.”

Basically, he’s predicting that there might be a week or two where Stafford is forced to sit out so that he can rest up to continue playing. That would not be an ideal scenario for Los Angeles, especially come playoff time.

Last season, Stafford still produced great numbers. He played in 16 games, completing 65.8 percent of his pass attempts for 3,762 yards, 20 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.

While he’s not getting any younger and injuries are becoming a major concern, he’s still one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks when he’s on the field.

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Sean McVay and company have put together an elite offense if Stafford is on the field. He’ll have Puka Nacua and Davante Adams as his primary wide receivers. If his body holds up, Stafford could have a massive season.

Hopefully, this scenario doesn’t become a reality. If it happens, a lot of pressure will be facing Garoppolo to keep the Rams’ offense firing on all cylinders.

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