As Matthew Stafford gears up for his first season in Los Angeles, the quarterback is cleaning up some old wounds. The veteran signal-caller underwent a procedure on the thumb of his throwing hand last month, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic. The surgery was characterized as minor and elective, with Stafford not expected to miss any of the Rams offseason work due to this procedure.
During his final season with the Detroit Lions in 2020, Stafford dealt with myriad injuries, including a partially torn UCL in that right thumb. This latest procedure presumably was an effort to fix that tear before Stafford truly begins ramping up preparations for his Rams debut and the 2021 season.
"I mean, this past year was bad," Stafford told Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press back in mid-February. "I had the partially torn UCL in my right thumb, I tore my UCL on my left elbow on the second to last play of the Houston game that nobody knew about, trying to stiff arm a guy. That's why I started wearing a sleeve on my left arm because I had all sorts of tape underneath it, just to hold it in place. I broke my cartilage on my eighth rib in Green Bay. I also tore something [in the back of] my left knee. And then I had a subtalar, right ankle sprain."
Even with all those injuries, Stafford was still able to suit up for all 16 games last season and his numbers were on par with what we've grown accustomed to seeing out of the former No. 1 overall pick. He completed 64.2% of his throws for 4,084 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He also had a passer rating of 96.3. If that's the type of production Stafford was able to give at less than full strength, this procedure to fix the thumb on his throwing hand could set him up for tremendous success in Year 1 of his Rams tenure.
Stafford was acquired by Los Angeles back in late January in what was the first big blockbuster move of the offseason -- despite reports of it coming prior to Super Bowl LV -- that also saw former Rams QB Jared Goff head to Detroit as part of the deal. In the aftermath of the trade, L.A. is being looked at as a serious Super Bowl contender with William Hill Sportsbook giving them the fifth-best odds (tied with the 49ers and Ravens) to hoist the Lombardi Trophy following the 2021 season.
