Ryan Clark has never been afraid to check quarterbacks, and Matthew Stafford has long been one of his favorite examples. The history goes back to Clark’s playing days and has carried into the studio. He’s teased Stafford before, even while talking to Dan Orlovsky, Stafford’s old Lions teammate turned ESPN colleague, reminding him that the guy Orlovsky defends so passionately is both tough as nails and constantly banged up.

That’s the dynamic: Orlovsky leans into the legend, while Clark pulls the curtain back. And Stafford’s injury log gives Clark plenty of ammo. A separated shoulder in 2009, another shoulder scare in 2011, the fractured back that shut him down in 2019, every chapter has toughness but also fragility baked in. So when Stafford’s latest back flare-up surfaced, Clark wasn’t buying the optimistic spin.

On the August 25 episode of NFL on ESPN, with Orlovsky sitting right there, he cut straight through the nostalgia. “You’re recalling the time he fought through the shoulder injury and he ran with his arm hanging,” Clark said, referencing one of Stafford’s most iconic clips. Then he hit the pivot, “And now you’re all nostalgic, forgetting that he’s old.” Of course, Clark did it with that mix of sharp wit and random comedy.

“Like his chin looks like your chin, right? I remember. Bro, I remember his teeth. They’re white white. Like him and Rex, whitest teeth in the world, bro.” The room laughed, but the point was clear: this isn’t about teeth or chins. It’s about the body of a 37-year-old quarterback whose game depends on standing tall in the pocket.

“The back of a 37-year-old quarterback, who does not play this game scary, who plays this game from the pocket, who stares down the barrel and delivers football in the tightest of situations, is just going to be okay?” Clark asked, half rhetorical, half dagger. And when you stack that against the NFC field, Philly, San Francisco, Detroit, Dallas, there’s no space for a quarterback who’s anything less than himself.

“If he is hampered. You can’t say that this team becomes an NFC Championship contender,” he concluded. That’s classic Clark versus Orlovsky. One man fighting for Stafford’s mythology, the other throwing cold water on it. Everyone remembers Stafford’s toughness. But his body? That’s the part nobody, not even Orlovsky, can argue away.

Meanwhile, Stafford gave an update on his return.

Matthew Stafford is ready to return and dominate

Matthew Stafford didn’t bother dressing it up. He knows what year 17 feels like, and he’s not about to act like it’s anything less than a grind. “You know what? I’ve played for 17. This will be 17 years now. There’s soreness all over the place every time I wake up, bud,” Stafford said on August 25.

“But no, you know, it’s something that I’ll manage like I do a million other things throughout the year,” he added. That’s the stance. No sugarcoating. No mystery. Stafford’s return isn’t framed as some miraculous recovery; Indeed, it’s just another hurdle for a guy who’s been navigating them his entire career.

Sean McVay, meanwhile, is treating Week 1 without much worry. “I can’t see into the future, but if you look at what the last week has entailed, feel really good,” McVay said. “There’s nothing that would leave me to believe, unless we have an unforeseen setback, that he’s not going to be ready to roll against the Texans.” The disc injury in his back kept Stafford on the sideline for weeks, forced Jimmy Garoppolo to take first-team reps, and had some wondering whether the Rams’ playoff ceiling was already compromised. But Stafford’s been back on the field, fully practicing, stacking sessions. That’s the real tell.

So what does it all mean for L.A.? The Rams aren’t pretending Stafford is indestructible; nobody buys that anymore. But they also know this. As long as he’s upright, their offense runs with a different kind of rhythm. Last year’s 65.8 percent completion rate, 3,762 yards, and 20 touchdowns didn’t happen by accident.

The risk is obvious. Another setback, another flare-up, and suddenly Garoppolo isn’t just holding a clipboard. But Stafford’s cleared stance, weary honesty mixed with veteran defiance, gives the Rams something steadier than speculation, belief that, yes, he’ll be there when it counts.