Rypien takes first-team reps as Stafford remains day-to-day
THOUSAND OAKS » Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was not a participant in Wednesday's practice after suffering a UCL strain in his right thumb. But the team is not ruling him out for Sunday's game at the Green Bay Packers.
Instead, the Rams will allow the 15-year veteran every opportunity to try to return to action, even if he is unable to practice at all this week.
“You give him up until right before the game. You use all the time necessary for a player like him,” coach Sean McVay said.
The matter at hand for Stafford is the swelling in the thumb on his throwing hand. On Monday, McVay said the injury impacted his ability to hold a football. The cold weather expected in Green Bay only compounds the issue.
So while the Rams aren't considering the injured reserve for Stafford, there remain obstacles, some outside of his control, to his ability to play against the Packers.
“We're just taking it a day at a time. He's really trying to take care of all of those kinds of things. We'll continue to monitor it and he'll be day-to-day,” McVay said. “We'll have contingency plans for both situations that could potentially arise.”
Stafford is seventh in the NFL with 2,070 yards passing this season. His 59.7% completion rate is the lowest among the league's top 22 quarterbacks in yards, and he has thrown eight touchdown passes with seven interceptions.
The Rams took one step in that direction on Wednesday by signing Dresser Winn to the practice squad. The undrafted rookie from Tennessee-Martin spent the offseason and training camp with the Rams before being cut at the end of August. His familiarity with the system made him a fit with the Rams this week.
McVay said the Rams did explore the possibility of signing John Wolford, who spent the previous three seasons with the team before starting out this year on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice squad. But he ultimately signed with Tampa Bay's active roster, and the Rams did not pursue a quarterback via trade prior to Tuesday's deadline, McVay said.
Winn would serve as the backup to Brett Rypien if Stafford is unable to play on Sunday. After spending much of practice through the last eight weeks with the scout team, Rypien is taking on first-team reps this week as Stafford serves as an extension of the coaching staff.
“(Rypien) does a really good job and whether he was preparing to start or whether he was preparing to be the backup, I think his consistent approach is something that's a good thing for him,” McVay said. “I don't really see much change. I see a guy that came in, handled the walk-through excellent just like he's kind of done from the jump.”
Rypien stayed out on the field late on Wednesday working with receivers. He said it felt good getting some reps with the first-team offense after spending so much time with the scout team to start the year.
There are areas he's working on with those receivers, whether it's understanding their timing or how they read certain coverages. And Rypien is also working on his own timing, whether it's to avoid getting ahead of himself on certain progressions or getting used to feeling a pass rush coming.
“I think I just try to take the same approach as I've done every game that I've started,” said Rypien, who has started three games in the NFL but was a fouryear starter at Boise State. “I think that the guys feed off of that.”
Rypien knows that the decision on when he starts could come down to pregame warmups on Sunday, and he said he is comfortable with that. McVay said that while the game plan will largely stay the same whether Stafford or Rypien is under center, there are certain plays that are more suited to the former's talents.
“To say that you can operate exactly the same way, I think that'd be a little silly,” McVay said. “But we do have confidence in Brett to be able to operate our offense.”
Injury updates
Right tackle Rob Havenstein (calf) and LB Ernest Jones (knee) did not practice on Wednesday. WR Puka Nacua (knee), DB Cobie Durant (shoulder), DT Larrell Murchison (knee), WR Austin Trammell (hip), WR Ben Skowronek (Achilles) and punter Ethan Evans (ankle) were limited.