During Matthew Stafford’s preparation for his 16th NFL season, the Rams quarterback demonstrated a knack for improvisation.
A short pass he tossed in a joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys was twice tipped into the air. Stafford, much to the chagrin of coach Sean McVay, grabbed the ball, stumbled and dived across the goal line.
Asked later what he was thinking, Stafford chuckled.
“How just absolutely old I looked,” he said.
But Stafford, 36, has not shown signs of decline.
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Last season he overcame a right thumb injury in leading the Rams to the playoffs and making the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2014. When the Rams open the season Sunday night against the Detroit Lions, Stafford will rank as the second-oldest starting quarterback in the NFL. Aaron Rodgers of the New York Jets is 40. Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons, who turned 36 last month, is six months younger than Stafford.
The Rams are returning to Detroit’s Ford Field, where Stafford played for 12 seasons and the Lions defeated the Rams, 24-23, in an NFC wild-card game last January. Stafford rebooted for this season by following his customary offseason plan.
“Every year for me now is just how I can get myself back to as close to zero as I can physically as quickly as I can,” he said this week. “That takes more time every single year and then also emotionally letting myself refill the tank.
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“It takes a lot out of me to play this position and do it for a bunch of years now, so I just try to make sure I step away, get away, and when I did come back, make sure that I was all in, ready to go.”
Stafford, the No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft, has passed for 56,047 yards and 357 touchdowns, with 180 interceptions, during a career in which he has played through numerous injuries.
In a league that constantly is developing young star quarterbacks, room remains for those 35 and older. Tom Brady won four of his seven Super Bowl titles in his late 30s and early 40s.
“I’m always watching the game, studying the guys that came before me,” Stafford said. “Try to pick up as much as I can mentally watching the game and how can I create advantages before the snap, after the snap, get our guys in good positions to go be successful.”
Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, a two-time NFL most valuable player, led the St. Louis Rams to two Super Bowls, winning one. In 2008, when he was 38, he led the Arizona Cardinals to a Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I felt like I played as well as I’ve ever played in a lot of ways,” said Warner, an NFL Network analyst. “I might not have been able to throw it as hard or as far as before, but just physically being able to move and negotiate the pocket wasn’t really a factor or an issue.”
Warner said older quarterbacks today benefit physically from hiring personal teams to help them focus on nutrition and recuperative methods such as massage. Experience helps too.
“You don’t bounce back nearly as quick as you did before,” Warner said. “But I think there’s also a positive in that the older you get, the smarter you are, the better you know the game, the better you are at getting the ball out and making good decisions.”
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Rich Gannon was 37 in 2002 when he was MVP and led the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl. Stafford, he said, still demonstrates elite arm talent, coupling that with deep knowledge.
“For me, the game really slowed down late in my career,” said Gannon, whose career spanned 18 seasons. “I felt like when I stepped on the field, I was the best-prepared player on the field on both offense and defense.
“I think Matthew is that kind of guy. … He doesn’t have the escape-ability that maybe he had five years ago. But you’re able to beat people with your mind more so than your legs.”
Rams safety John Johnson III played against Brady, Drew Brees and other quarterbacks when they were older than 35. Usually, Johnson said, there is decline in arm strength offset by uncanny mental preparation.
“He has some kind of Benjamin Button thing going on.”
Cooper Kupp, on Matthew Stafford, 36, and how he plays like a youngster
“With him,” Johnson said of Stafford’s arm, “I feel like it might be stronger. He’s still making throws. Last year was my first time seeing it in person for the first time [as a teammate] and I was like, ‘Holy cow!’”
Rams receiver Cooper Kupp has played with Stafford for three seasons. In Super Bowl LVI, Kupp was the MVP after catching two touchdown passes. Experience counts, Kupp said.
“There’s an element of saying would you rather have Matthew Stafford now, or Matthew Stafford his rookie year or his second year?” Kupp said. “Like who would you rather have? I think there’s an argument to be made that you’d rather have him now.”
Stafford is under contract through 2026. Before training camp, the Rams gave in to his demand to adjust the deal he signed in 2022 after leading the Rams to their most recent Super Bowl title. This season he will carry a salary-cap number of $46.2 million, according to Overthecap.com.
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How long can Stafford play?
“You see guys now playing into their 40s and things like that,” Kupp said. “I don’t know if he’s going to want to do that, but who knows. I mean, if you look at his face shots over the last six years he actually has been looking better. … He has some kind of Benjamin Button thing going on.”
Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur was asked if there was anything he would like to see Stafford do that he had not done previously.
“I hope just every year, every game, every minute he’s out there, he can just enjoy it a little bit more because what he’s doing is so special,” LaFleur said. “At his age, to be playing the way that he’s playing and the joy he brings to not just us as coaches, but those other players. They feed off that.”
After last season, the Rams invested heavily in their offensive line, re-signing guard Kevin Dotson and signing guard/center Jonah Jackson to contracts that include more than $30 million in guarantees. The Rams will be short-handed Sunday because left tackle Alaric Jackson is suspended for two games for violating the NFL’s personal-conduct policy, and right tackle Rob Havenstein might not be fully recovered from an ankle injury. The challenge in the opener and throughout the season will be minimizing hits on Stafford.
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“He loves the game, he loves the preparation, he loves the process,” McVay said. “You can see there’s still a youthful joy he has out there when he’s out there competing.
“But you see how tough he’s played … the accumulation of hits. And so I think you want to do a great job of keeping him as clean as possible so that he can stay physically feeling good. And when he’s physically feeling good, usually good things happen for the Rams.”
Stafford is confident he can continue to play at a high level.
“Try to make sure that when my opportunities to make plays come that I can still do that,” he said, “and I feel like I can. Feel like I did it at a decent clip last year and am looking forward to the challenge of trying to do it again this year.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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