Rams’ Matthew Stafford not thinking about retirement: ‘I enjoy playing too much to hang it up’

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is currently dealing with a UCL sprain in his right thumb, and missed the Rams’ Week 9 matchup against the Green Bay Packers. This marks the second year in a row the veteran signal-caller has had to miss at least one game due to injury, as Stafford suffered a spinal cord contusion that held him to just nine games played in 2022.

Stafford has dealt with his fair share of injuries over the course of his 15-year career, and is now 35 years old, which makes him the third-oldest starting quarterback behind Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins. During a Friday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Stafford was asked why he continues to play, and if he’s going to go until the “wheels fall off.” 

“I don’t think I’ll go until the wheels completely fall off, they’re wobbling a little bit right now as we speak” Stafford joked. “I love playing this game. I love competing, I love being in the locker room with the guys. I’ll never get that again, so I want to make sure I get as many opportunities to do that as I can. I love this team, I love the city, it’s been a blast. Obviously had a bunch of success in our first year, and trying to duplicate that to either this year, next year, whenever it is. But I enjoy playing too much to hang it up.” 

The former No. 1 overall pick out of Georgia admitted he had a “conversation” with his wife about retirement this past offseason after suffering the spinal cord injury, but after receiving assurance that the injury wasn’t going to linger, Stafford was more than ready to return to the field.

Stafford has a bye week to rest up, and told McAfee the thumb is feeling better than he thought it would. Through nine weeks, Stafford ranks No. 9 in passing yards per game (258.8), and has thrown eight touchdowns compared to seven interceptions in eight games played. Stafford currently ranks No. 11 on the NFL’s all-time passing list with 54,152 career passing yards. He is just under 3,000 yards away from replacing Eli Manning in the top 10.