The Los Angeles Rams and Matthew Stafford have been one of the biggest stories of training camp and the preseason because of the quarterback’s back injury. Stafford is 37 years old and entering his 17th season in the NFL. He just missed training camp and while he was supposed to start practicing this week, he has yet to take the field. Back injuries, especially for an NFL quarterback is nothing to scoff at. While there are a lot of unknowns, it may not be a bad idea to look at other quarterbacks and how they’ve performed off of similar injuries.
Philip Rivers
When you think of gritty quarterbacks in NFL history, Matthew Stafford is one of the first that come to mind. Another one that would come up shortly after is Philip Rivers. Back in 2014, Rivers dealt with a bulging disc, a similar issue to what Stafford is facing now. Said reports at the time,
“Team sources tell ESPN that Rivers is playing with a bulging disc in his lower back that doctors fear is on the brink of being herniated. The disc caused Rivers to miss practice for the first time since 2007 even though the injury began to bother him some three weeks ago. Rivers has taken epidural injections to reduce swelling, according to sources. He hopes to avoid offseason surgery, but it is an option, according to sources.”
Like Stafford, Rivers was also on the plus side of 30 at 33 years of age. Still, Stafford is dealing with this issue at 37. In order to continue playing, Rivers had to take multiple epidural injections to deal with the pain. While the Rams denied that surgery has been discussed for Stafford up to this point, it was something that was discussed with Rivers, but was ultimately avoided.
The main point here is that Rivers was one of the toughest quarterbacks in the NFL and the bulging disc in his back was severe enough to the point that he considered shutting down his season. It’s also worth noting how the bulging disc affected Rivers’ play down the stretch.
From Weeks 1-13, Rivers was arguably a MVP candidate with the Chargers sitting at 8-4 and having thrown 25 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions. Rivers was fifth in EPA per dropback and third in success rate. That changed dramatically over the final four games. From Weeks 14-17, Rivers ranked 27th in EPA per play and 24th in success rate. Rivers threw six touchdowns to eight interceptions.
This was an injury that Rivers was managing over the final stretch of the season. For a quarterback as tough as Rivers, it caused him to miss practice and consider shutting down his season. This might be the best case scenario for Stafford.
Before Philip Rivers, there was Tony Romo.
Back in December of 2013, Romo was ruled out for the rest of the season with a back injury. It was later reported that Romo had been diagnosed with a herniated disc and surgery was necessary. As of now, Stafford just has an aggravated disc and not a herniated disc which is a big difference. However, it does give an idea of what this type of injury can develop into.
Heading into the final week of the season in a winner-take-all game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys quarterback injured his back in a game against Washington the week before and had hoped to play in the finale. ESPN reported at the time,
Sometime after the Cowboys returned to Dallas following their victory at Washington on Sunday, quarterback Tony Romo received an epidural injection to relieve pain and reduce inflammation related to the herniated disc in his lower back, according to sources…But sources close to the quarterback consider that a long shot and remain skeptical he can safely play and function as an NFL quarterback, especially in such a short time…At this time, Romo has been advised that he likely will need surgery eventually.
Romo, who was 33 at the time, ended up being placed on injured reserve and having surgery before the season finale and the Cowboys lost, 24-22. It’s worth noting that Romo had undergone surgery to remove a cyst in the summer. After the game against Washington, Romo said, “I tweaked it in the game. For whatever reason, just the twist or whatever it was definitely just made it not feel comfortable.”
This would be the worst case scenario for Stafford depending on how the aggravated disc progresses. It’s not a good sign that Stafford hasn’t practiced since throwing 60 passes in a private workout over the weekend.
Matt Hasselbeck
Modern medicine has certainly progressed since 2008, but Hasselbeck’s situation may be the most similar to Stafford’s. While Stafford is certainly more talented than Hasselbeck, Hasselbeck’s injury is the only one on this list that started before the regular season.
As the Seattle Times reported,
“The back problem is affecting a nerve in Hasselbeck’s lower back, coach Mike Holmgren said, and is also creating a weakness in Hasselbeck’s leg that brought on the knee injury. Hasselbeck left for Los Angeles to see a medical specialist…Hasselbeck twisted his back awkwardly while avoiding a hit and throwing a touchdown pass in the preseason opener on Aug. 8 at Minnesota, and missed the entire preseason while he dealt with back spasms. His bulging disc was diagnosed and treated with injections.”
The specialist that Hasselbeck saw was Dr. Robert Watkins who is the same specialist that Stafford has met with at least twice this summer. Like Stafford and the other quarterbacks on this list, Hasselbeck also received an epidural injection to help manage the pain.
Hasselbeck was coming off of a Pro Bowl season in 2008 that was completely derailed by the bulging disc in his back. While he played the first four games of the season, he missed the next five. Hasselbeck did play the following three games before missing the final four weeks.
After ranking eighth in EPA per play in 2007, Hasselbeck ranked just 26th during the first four weeks in 2008 with two touchdowns to four interceptions. That didn’t improve when the Seahawks quarterback returned as he ranked 24th in EPA per play in Weeks 11-13. Had Hasselbeck played enough in 2008, he would have been the NFL’s lowest-rated passer. After the season, Hasselbeck voiced to ESPN that he wished he would have just been shut down.
“Doctors told him in October that if nothing more happened to his back he could avoid surgery. Hasselbeck says now he should have just been shut down for the end of an already lost season that ended with a 4-12 record…‘I know last year was really hard and frustrating,’ Hasselbeck said. ‘And, personally, on how it was handled -- every week wondering -- I think that made it harder. Instead of just knowing, knowing the truth.’”
What does this mean for Matthew Stafford?
There are a few differences with these situations and the one that Stafford is currently managing. Both Rivers’ and Romo’s injuries occurred during the season. In Rivers’ case, he received an in-season epidural and kept playing. Even in Hasselbeck’s case, while his injury occurred the first week of the preseason and he was able to rest leading up to Week 1, it still took place close to the beginning of the regular season. Stafford’s injury was first reported before training camp.
With that being said, the Rams can remain confident that Stafford would play this week if there were a game with their primary goal being Week 1. However, it is fair to be concerned about anything that may take place after that. What happens after the first big hit? Stafford just threw 60 balls in a private workout and has apparently reacted negatively to that workout. What happens if Stafford has to throw 40 passes in a game?
This isn’t meant to be ‘doom and gloom’, but at the same time, it would be naive to think that this injury isn’t going to affect Stafford even when he finally gets on the field. Again, that has potentially already happened after Stafford’s workout given that he hasn’t felt good enough to practice since.
Even with an epidural, Rivers’ play dipped after his injury. Hasselbeck went from a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback to one with the worst passer rating in the NFL. The more concerning part is how Hasselbeck’s bulging disc affected his legs. That’s where Stafford gets most of his throwing power.
The situation continues to be one of ‘we don’t know what we don’t know.’ We likely won’t know anything until Stafford does take the field and we see him throw and take the first hit. Everyone will be watching to see how Stafford reacts. Even then, there’s no guarantee that the injury won’t pop up or get re-aggravated at some point during the season.