Stafford still has "a little bit of pain" in elbow

Rams HC Sean McVay said Monday that QB Matt Stafford still has "a little bit of pain" in his throwing elbow. Stafford had an injection in that elbow shortly after the Super Bowl and didn't throw at all during the spring. He's thrown some in camp but was held out of team drills on Monday. "We just want to be really smart with somebody that is as important as our quarterback is," McVay said. "[We want to] put together a plan that we feel like is in his best interests and our team's best interests." The Rams continue to downplay this situation. But when a QB is still experiencing pain in his throwing elbow in August, we're on alert.

Rams QB Matthew Stafford threw for 272 yards and 3 TDs in Sunday's win over the Falcons. He also tossed a pair of INTs. Stafford's scores went to, of course, Cooper Kupp (twice) and Allen Robinson. He targeted Kupp (14) or Tyler Higbee (9) on 63.9% of his pass attempts.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Rams QB Matthew Stafford had a "procedure" on his right elbow in the offseason "to deal with the pain he experienced last season and to help prepare for this season." Schefter's sources say Stafford's throwing elbow now feels better than it did a year ago. That corroborates last week's words from the QB and HC Sean McVay that Stafford's heading into the season with no limitations. At this point, all we can do is trust the Rams' words on their QB. We haven't lowered Stafford or his pass-catchers in our projections.

Asked about the health of his elbow, Rams QB Matthew Stafford said Sunday, "I feel good, no limitations ... I feel great," according to NFL Network's Omar Ruiz. Stafford added, though, that he'll go week to week in determining what he'll need to do for it. HC Sean McVay reportedly added that he would have "no hesitation" with having Stafford throw 50-55 passes in a game, if needed. It's clear that Stafford's elbow isn't all the way back to 100%. But it also seems like he's good enough at least for early-season fantasy football purposes.

After attending Rams practice on Wednesday, insider Peter King said QB Matt Stafford's arm "has not fallen off." Added King, "He really threw the ball well. ... The zip on the ball was very good. I think the reports of the death of his arm have been greatly exaggerated." It's certainly sounding like Stafford's right elbow issue is more of a pain-management thing, and not something that'll impact his play this season.

Rams QB Matt Stafford said Wednesday that his right elbow "feels good" and is "right on track." He admitted that he's not sure when the soreness in that elbow will go away, but he doesn't think it'll impact his performance. "I'm just going out there, doing my work [and] trusting the process that we have," Stafford said. "I know that I'm able to go out there and function at a high level right now. So whatever it feels like, hopefully, continues to keep getting better as it has. But I know that functionally, I feel like I can do everything I need to do. So just trying to continue on that road."