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Will Matthew Stafford play in Week 1? Will Matthew Stafford play in 2025? John's latest Matthew Stafford injury fantasy football outlook and injury update.
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (back) is dealing with an irritated disk in his back that delayed his 2025 training camp debut. The 37-year-old is back at practice as of August 18, but the team is taking it slow with its veteran signal-caller.
Stafford has played through numerous injuries in his 16-year NFL career, but limitations to his mobility and arm strength threaten to hamper his performance. For fantasy football managers interested in Rams wide receivers Davante Adams and Puka Nacua, Stafford’s ability to pilot a high-powered offense in LA is critical.
How many games will Stafford play this year, and how productive will he be when he is on the field? Let’s take stock of the information at hand.
Will Stafford Play in Week 1?
Stafford is on track to play in the Rams’ regular-season opener on September 7 against the Houston Texans. However, Stafford did not play a single snap in the preseason, so it’s unclear how much (if at all) he’ll be impacted by his ailing back.
The injury updates that Los Angeles has provided on Stafford have been inconsistent at best. Stafford was initially expected to return to practice on Monday, August 11, but ended up missing that entire week.
From @GMFB: #Rams QB Matthew Stafford was back practicing. And that is very good. pic.twitter.com/kdSzTHlwmS
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 19, 2025
How Effective Can Stafford Be When He Is On The Field?
Stafford has received multiple epidural injections this offseason, which suggests that he is seeking to reduce pain and swelling in the affected area of his back. That feels ominous for a 37-year-old quarterback, and leads one to believe that it’s unlikely Stafford will be at full strength in 2025.
Stafford is one of the toughest quarterbacks in recent NFL history. He’s played through a preposterous number of injuries, as detailed by Dr. Jesse Morse of Injury Expertz below:
I’m cautiously optimistic on Matthew Stafford and his back injury.
This guy has the LONGEST injury history I have record of.
Here’s some thoughts, particularly as it pertains to Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. https://t.co/HbUm83O5Oq pic.twitter.com/u9ADIUS7OK
— Jesse Morse, M.D. (@DrJesseMorse) July 26, 2025
Stafford played through multiple back fractures in 2018, but it’s worth noting that he ended up missing eight games in 2019 due to a similar issue. He’s since had minor back ailments in both 2021 and 2024. The wear and tear of playing NFL games through back pain could finally be catching up to him.
Additionally, the 2018 season was one of the worst of Stafford’s career. Outside of his first two years in the NFL, 2018 marks Stafford’s lowest yards per attempt (6.8) and QBR (51.3), and his third-lowest yards per game (236.1).
Matthew Stafford 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook
Even if he were fully healthy, Stafford would profile as a low-end fantasy QB2 at best. He offers zero production with his legs, as he’s logged 158 yards rushing and one touchdown in 57 games with the Rams.
He’s capable of the occasional spike week, but Stafford hasn’t topped 4,000 yards or 25 touchdown passes since 2021.
Of larger note to fantasy managers is Stafford’s ability to orchestrate a high-octane passing game that will support wide receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. Running back Kyren Williams is dependent on Stafford to consistently move the ball into the scoring area as well.
Stafford’s worst season with the Rams came in 2022, when a neck injury limited him to nine games. In those nine games, he averaged just 231.9 passing yards per game (6.9 yards per attempt) and 1.1 touchdown passes per contest.
However, the Rams' WR2 in 2022 was Allen Robinson II, who averaged a miserable 7.8 PPR points per game. Top running backs Darrell Henderson Jr. and Cam Akers also struggled to be productive, with neither averaging more than 8.1 PPR points per game during Stafford’s time on the field.
Nacua, Adams, and Williams are superior players to Robinson, Henderson Jr., and Akers, which makes this an imperfect comparison. However, the Rams' offensive struggles in 2022 behind a limited Stafford could be instructive of what fantasy managers should expect from the team in 2025, at least to some degree.
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