The Rams say that Matthew Stafford is fine, but 49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco isn’t so sure.
Stafford has been dealing with an elbow issue since last season, one that required an injection this offseason. Stafford did not throw during offseason workouts as he recovered.
Stafford has resumed throwing at Rams practice, but the Rams have been cagey about what exactly is wrong with the QB. Stafford has declined to give specifics, while McVay has acknowledged the issue is “abnormal for a quarterback.”
If the issue is indeed worse than LA is letting on and Stafford could sit out, Maiocco believes the Rams might look north for their QB solution.
“Let’s monitor that Rams situation,” Maiocco told Tolbert & Copes in regards to where Jimmy Garoppolo could go. “When you start hearing a head coach — and I know Matthew Stafford practiced on Saturday and threw the ball okay, and Sean McVay said he’s going to sleep a lot better after watching him throw — but last week he described Matthew Stafford’s elbow situation as something that’s unique for football, it’s kind of a baseball pitcher type of thing. Well, what’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you think baseball pitcher and an elbow?”
“Tommy John,” host Adam Copeland said.
“Exactly. And so if you’re the Rams at this point and your option behind Matthew Stafford is John Wolford, like who would you rather have? John Wolford or Jimmy Garoppolo, somebody who would step in and know that system immediately. So, there’s a lot going on right now and I guess there’s a few reasons why the 49ers would want to hold onto Garoppolo.”
“He’s still not practicing,” Maiocco continued. “I don’t know the answer to this but I can’t imagine he’s even been issued an iPad for the playbook. He’s not even sitting in on meetings. They’re just kind of keeping him twisting in the wind, and outside appearances he seems to be okay with it. Every time I see him and talk to him he’s got a smile on his face and he’s telling me something with happen eventually.
“It’s a crazy situation, I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”
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Catch Tolbert & Copes weekdays from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. on KNBR 104.5 / 680 and streaming live on KNBR.com.
