Rams Matthew Stafford practices for first time in

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is back.

But to what degree stays to be seen.

Stafford, sidelined since the start of training camp because of a back issue, practiced Monday for the first time.

That certified as an sudden and momentous development for the Rams as they put together for their Sept. 7 opener against the Houston Texans at SoFi Stadium.

Stafford, 37, went through particular person and crew drills with the first-team offense. The Seventeenth-year professional was a full participant, but he didn’t communicate to reporters afterward.

“It was good to be able to have Matthew out there,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “There are no updates. We’re going to take it a day, a week at a time.“

Stafford looked sharp and had no noticeable limitations during the one-hour practice. The Rams typically go through fast-paced, energetic workouts.

But there was a heightened, palpable sense of excitement from other players when Stafford went into the huddle for the first 11-on-11 period.

“That certainly was something that guys felt good about,” McVay said. “This represents a great opportunity that he wanted to be out there and do what he did … and we’ll see what [Tuesday] entails.”

Based on what he noticed of Stafford, how assured is McVay that Stafford might be prepared for the opener?

“I think that would be putting the cart way before the horse,” McVay said.

McVay used his post-practice news convention to pull back the reins on himself.

From the start of training camp, McVay publicly set goal dates for Stafford to start practising or go through particular person exercises. Many of those dates got here and went with Stafford still sidelined.

Questions adopted.

“There was lot of things that we had talked about at the beginning, and it’s kind of gone a little bit differently than what we had planned,” McVay said.

On Monday, McVay repeatedly said there have been no updates on Stafford’s state of affairs — “We’re trying to get our hands on it” — and that the Rams would proceed a day at a time.

“I’m not going to pigeonhole myself into any plans,” McVay said. “And so we’re just really seeing how he feels.”

Until Monday, Stafford’s only lively on-field work occurred Aug. 9, when McVay said Stafford threw more than 60 passes encompassing short, medium and long routes. Stafford was scheduled to observe two days later but was not in a position to do so.

Last Saturday, before the Rams performed the Chargers, Stafford was scheduled to go through another workout. But when requested to affirm whether or not Stafford did so, the Rams on Saturday night time declined to remark, sending the NFL world abuzz with hypothesis about Stafford’s health.

On Monday, the Rams confirmed that Stafford didn’t go through the Saturday session.

And Stafford seemed keen and energized during the observe.

Stafford and quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo, Stetson Bennett and Dresser Winn started by taking snaps from facilities. They moved on to executing roll-out passes, stretched with the crew and then did hand-off drills with working backs.

When they gathered for 11-on-11 drills, Stafford related with receiver Davante Adams on his first go. On the next play, he scrambled ahead out of the pocket and tried a short go that fell incomplete, transferring with no apparent hindrance or indicators of discomfort.

Those had been constructive indicators for a Rams crew aiming to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2021 season.

But McVay was not permitting himself to get too excited or look too far forward.

“My job is to make sure you stay steady and even-keeled — No. 1 for Matthew but for our group,” he said. “Of course you want him to feel as good as possible and be able to lead the way.

“But if the circumstances don’t allow that, then we have a lot of confidence in Jimmy and Stetson and our group as a whole.”