The Rams are stuck in a weird offseason tradition they’d love to break: waiting on Matthew Stafford. It started right after their Super Bowl win in 2022, when Stafford needed an injection in his throwing elbow. That led to zero passes in offseason workouts, limited reps in camp, and eventually a spinal injury that shut down his season. But he was ready enough to start Week 1, so they rolled with it.

Then came 2024. Stafford held out again. This time over contract drama—and things got so tense, Sean McVay literally delayed his camp-opening press conference. Flash forward to 2025, and surprise: same movie, different summer. The Rams smoothed out another contract snag, but now, even with camp kicking off, Stafford’s attendance feels iffy. But this time, the reason seems somewhat concerning.

On Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Rams plan to limit Stafford’s practice time during the first five days of training camp due to his back soreness, a limitation confirmed by the head coach. And just like that, this is the third time in four years that the 37-year-old quarterback’s situation is uncertain, as the quarterback enters year 17.

The HC shared that Stafford is dealing with some back soreness. So to kick things off, he’ll be working off to the side. “He’s been throwing, feeling good. It’s not anything that’s necessarily new — something that he’s dealt with before,” McVay said. “Going into Year 17, we were going to take a modified approach with him, kind of similar to what we did in the offseason program. And so we’ll allow him to kind of just work off to the side, on his own, get himself feeling as good as possible.”

With Stafford down due to back soreness and limited to lesser reps, veteran Jimmy Garoppolo is expected to take first-team snaps with Stetson Bennett and Dresser Winn are also available in the Rams quarterback room. The Rams brought Garoppolo last year on a one-year deal, but he started just one game. Entering the 2025 offseason, the Rams re-signed him on a one-year deal.

Meanwhile, Stafford led the Rams to a 10-6 record, his third consecutive postseason trip. And yes, along the way, he piled up 3,762 yards and 20 touchdowns at a completion rate of 63.4. But the 37-year-old quarterback isn’t the only one who’ll be sidelined due to injury concerns in the training camp.

Sean McVay starts training camp with injury-concerned roster

“If he was a first-year player, then I think you’d say, man, every rep really matters,” McVay said about Stafford’s back soreness. “I think the important thing is having a big-picture perspective with a guy going into Year 17.” The writing is on the wall: the head coach isn’t much concerned about the 37-year-old quarterback’s back issues. But let’s not forget Stafford isn’t the only starter sidelined due to injury scars as the Rams kick off camp.

In fact, ahead of the camp, left tackle Alaric Jackson was out indefinitely after being diagnosed with blood clots in his leg. Entering the 2025 season, it’s the second time in three years that dark clouds are looming over Jackson’s availability due to health concerns. He arrived in the 2022 season as a backup offensive lineman. And then, the Rams named him the starting guard in week 3 before eventually moving him to left tackle. But blood clots in his leg interrupted his season in mid-November 2022, and the Rams placed him on season-ending IR.

Fast forward to now, he’s still struggling with blood clots, sure. But Sean McVay recently shared an encouraging update on Jackson’s availability. The head coach said that Jackson will do “some individual drills,” sure. But he won’t participate in “the actual physical stuff” that the rest of the OL will do. “I do feel good about the plan we have in place that hopefully leads to him being able to go out there and compete with his teammates,” McVay said. “I know he is feeling good. He’s handled this like a total stud.”

That said, the HC isn’t ruling out the possibility of Jackson’s starting status for the 2025 season. But deep down, McVay’s juggling some real injury concerns—whether it’s Stafford under center or Alaric Jackson up front.