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Amid speculation that he could retire, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has confirmed that he plans on playing next season. Stafford, 34 years old, made the announcement on his wife’s podcast, “The Morning After with Kelly Stafford.”
“Oh, no,” Stafford said when asked by his wife Kelly if he plans on retiring from the National Football League.
Here it is from Matthew himself on retirement: pic.twitter.com/S3hUsHlArR
— HoldenCantor (@HoldenCantor) December 20, 2022
Following a 2021 season — his first in Los Angeles — that ended with a Super Bowl title, 2022 has been a disappointment for both Stafford (who struggled with injuries all season) and the 4-10 Rams, who will be missing out on the playoffs entirely.
Speaking to reporters after their Monday Night Football loss to the Green Bay Packers, head coach Sean McVay spoke on how this has been a “humbling” season for the team:
“I think it’s hard to say that you could. You certainly can’t, but this is the reality we’re in. This is where we’re at. There’s a lot of things that when you look at it, especially when you get a chance to step back after the season’s over, how do we try to avoid some of these things?” McVay said.
“My job is to focus on, let’s finish up the season with the right competitive spirit, with the mindset and mentality that’s reflective of who those guys are in the locker room and who those coaches are and that’s what we’ll do. There’s been a lot of things that I’ve thought about that I think you can make sense of why you’ve gotten here, but it still doesn’t make it any easier and it’s a very humbling season, for sure.” [via ProFootballTalk]
Drafted out of the University of Georgia with the #1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, Stafford spent 11 seasons with the Detroit Lions before being traded to the Rams prior to last season. During his first season in Los Angeles, Stafford completed 67% of his passes for 4,886 yards, 41 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions, while also leading the team to a Super Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Over the course of his potentially Hall of Fame career, Stafford has completed 63% of his passes for 52,082 yards, 333 touchdowns, and 169 interceptions.
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