In the New Heights show on March 12, Matthew Stafford gave a two-word advice to Jason Kelce –“Buckle up.” Kelce asked for his advice as he was going to be a father of four kids, which Stafford already is. Later, Stafford, with a radiant smile, said that having four daughters is like a “blast” and “rocking-and-rolling” experience for him. No doubt, his fatherly joy was off-limits. And today, his joy doubled. Why?

Well, Stafford’s four daughters marked a new beginning in school. Matthew Stafford’s wife, Kelly Stafford, posted this news on her Instagram account. She shared a 12-slide Instagram post today with her four daughters. They all started their new academic session as they got promoted to new grades. Starting with the eldest two twins, Sawyer and Chandler are now third graders. Hunter is in second grade, and the youngest Tyler, is now in kindergarten.

The funny thing is that Tyler’s pink boots steal the show more than the news of their academics. One of the comments was like, “TyTy’s boots are fab!!” Besides the boots, Kelly Stafford also highlights her daughters’ swaggy backpacks and bookbags. The caption of this post is “Kinder, 2nd and (2) 3rd graders. Another school year, but this time with swaggy backpacks/bookbags 😍”

She attached a poll on that post, asking for votes for either backpacks or bootbags. 38% of the votes have gone to backpacks, while bootbags received only 12%. In that post, as usual, both the twin sisters wore the oversized pinkish t-shirt with their father’s jersey no. 9 on it. Meanwhile, the little Tyles gave a model-like pose in one of the pictures. The ending slide highlights all the “swaggy backpacks”. Both Matthew Stafford and his wife feature in this post with their kids. And yeah, their happiness looks unspuriously contagious.

The same happiness of Matthew Stafford was also prominent when the Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl LVI in 2022. One week earlier of the victory, the Rams’ quarterback shared a heartfelt confession about his family to PEOPLE magazine. It was about his departure from the Detroit Lions in 2021. He said, “I would never have made the decision to go in and ask to be traded [somewhere] unless I had full support from my family.” Back in 2021, he told Rams.com Q&A, “It (his four daughters) changed it in so many ways. As a parent, you’ll never know, what that feeling is until you have kids and I’ve been lucky enough to have that four times. Four beautiful little daughters. I’m lucky in that regard.”

Since the birth of the twin sisters on March 31, 2017, to the birth of Tyler on June 26, 2020, Matthew Stafford remains a humbled father. And this legacy still continues. This exuberant family news ahead of the NFL season undoubtedly cheered Matthew up. However, his prolonged back injury remains a dark cloud on his happiness. Despite his return to practice on Monday, his back issue and his age remain a big concern for the Rams.

Matthew Stafford’s back injury and his age: The burning issues to decide his fate

The head coach, Sean McVay, praised Matthew’s return to Monday’s practice. “I thought he did a good job today… saw the field well,” McVay said. However, Rams’ fans cannot spare Matthew’s aggravated disk in his back. Although his return satiated the Rams’ fans, the back issue at the age of 37 is going to decide his fate this season. Analyst Adam Schefter resonated the concern: “If there was a game tomorrow, Stafford would be playing. But backs at his age… tend to linger.” The podcast host Caroline Feton also echoed this issue. He said, “Back issues don’t get better, especially at that age. Once it’s your back, you never know what’s going to happen.” 

ESPN reported about Stafford’s “tough time” with the Rams, especially after his new two-year contract. And who knows, this season might be Stafford’s final season. Additionally, the long-term issue regarding the Rams’ quarterback decision is swirling around Jimmy Garoppolo and Stetson Bennett. Speaking about this Gaoppolo-Bennett subject, Fenton switched off the hopes with them. He said, “Here’s nothing… from a Jimmy G or a Stetson Bennett that’s going to make me think they can hold this all together with glue and tape and bubble gum. If Jimmy G has to start eight games, the Rams likely miss the playoffs.”

If we keep aside all of these issues, one thing is still crystal clear. When it comes to the matter of Super Bowl contender, Sean McVay and the entire Rams’ team think of Matthew Stafford. While the burning issues of age and back injury cast a dark spell, Matthew Stafford still remains the Rams’ lone hope for Super Bowl victory.