LA Rams Elbowgate: Why Rams aren’t worried. Why fans are.

III: Why quarterback Matthew Stafford is not worried

We all know that LA Rams starting quarterback Matthew Stafford has played in the NFL for a very long time. In regulation play, he has attempted over 6,800 passes. Factor in playoff passing, and you’ve crossed over 7,000 forward passes over his 13-year NFL career. Behind all of those passes, you have college games, high school games, and more.   Of course, each game means just as many practice throws – over and over and over again.

Pain is a warning sign. It’s the feedback that informs the person that something may be wrong somewhere in the body. It could be a splinter, and bruise, a scrape, a cut, or damage below the skin’s surface like a sprain, strain, or broken bone.

Stafford is in a constant state of pain management over the course of an NFL season. Over his career, there is no joint, limb, or digit that has not been a concern due to injury at some point. Now just faced pain, but played through the pain to win a game with no time left. He separated his shoulder at the end of a game against the Cleveland Browns

So you can see why a player like Matthew Stafford, who played with a shoulder popped out of its socket, is not too concerned about pain in a joint.

Stafford is the type of player who is old school. A player who will play on a sprained ankle, a busted rib, or a separated shoulder, as long as he can make the throws and give his team a chance to win. After all, how can you expect a guy who is in pain in virtually any game he plays to believe that while most pain is nothing to worry about, this pain is? Sure it’s his throwing elbow. But he has had pain almost everywhere in his body, so he is by no means the least bit alarmed.