Matthew Stafford Thought 2023 Thumb Injury Could Have Been Career-Ending

The veteran quarterback was concerned with the severity of the thumb injury that impacted him at the end of last season.

Aug 1, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) throws a ball during training camp at Loyola Marymount University. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is feeling good physically entering the 2024 season after numerous injuries that have impacted him over the last two years.

In 2022, Stafford dealt with an injured elbow and eventual back injury that ended his season after nine games. Last season, Stafford played in 15 games for the Rams, but was battling a thumb injury in the second half of the year that wasn't quite as serious as he initially thought.

In fact, when Stafford first injured the thumb on his throwing hand, he thought that it may be career-ending.

"Being healthy is a great thing," Stafford told Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer. "When your brain tells your body to do something, and it does, it's great. When it can’t, because of one thing or another, that’s tough. Getting out there and playing and doing all that kind of stuff, [and] finally feeling good again being able to do all that stuff [last year] was great. Halfway through the season in the Dallas game, I thought I was done for my season, maybe career, depending on what it was going to look like under imaging. Lucky enough that it was mild enough to where I could splint it for six games after that and work my way through it. It was a couple scary moments."

Stafford said the physical examination on the thumb when he first injured it was so bad, that there was genuine concern from the quarterback that he may not come back from it.

"I was on the sideline thinking [it was a] pretty good chance it was [career-ending],” he added. “Physical examination was not pretty. I’d just fought back from something else, and having to deal with that now is tough. Luckily it was good enough to just treat and manage and let my body heal and splint it for games. I was able to play good enough for a little bit to keep us in it.”

Stafford completed 62.6% of his passes for 3,965 yards and 24 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. The Rams finished the season with a 10-7 record and fell to the Detroit Lions in the NFC wild card.