Stafford uncertain to start for the Rams at Green Bay
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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 earlier in the week.
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.
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 signed Dresser Winn, an undrafted rookie from Tennessee-Martin, to the practice squad. He had been in training camp with the team and his familiarity with the system made him a fit this week.
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.”
TEXANS QB STROUD HOPES LESSONS LEARNED >> C.J. Stroud didn’t let last week’s tough loss to the previously winless Panthers get to him.
Quite the opposite.
The rookie quarterback took lessons from that defeat that he’ll use Sunday when he leads the Houston Texans against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“As the year goes on, I feel like it gets a little harder,” said Stroud, who played at Rancho Cucamonga High. “But if it was easy, everybody would do it. And that’s just something I keep in mind. The trials and tribulations, the hard losses — whatever you want to name — it prepares you for things that come in the long run.”
Stroud looks to bounce back after throwing for a season-low 140 yards against Carolina after entering the game averaging more than 276 yards per game. Houston (3-4) scored just 13 points in the loss, its fewest points since a 25-9 loss to Baltimore in the opener.
“This is an accountability-based business,” Stroud said. “And I think everybody is looking in the mirror like, ‘How can we fix these issues and do things the right way?’ And we’re excited to get that done.”
The Texans will try to do that against a Buccaneers (3-4) team that has lost three in a row, capped by last week’s 24-18 loss at Buffalo. They’re likely to get nose tackle Vita Vea back after the defensive leader sat out last week with a groin injury.
Bob Knight, the brilliant and combustible coach who won three NCAA titles at Indiana and for years was the scowling face of college basketball, has died. He was 83.
Knight’s family made the announcement on social media on Wednesday night. He was hospitalized with an illness in April and had been in poor health for several years.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share that Coach Bob Knight passed away at his home in Bloomington surrounded by his family,” the statement said. “We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy as Coach requested a private family gathering, which is being honored.”
Knight was among the winningest and most controversial coaches in the sport, finishing his career with 902 victories in 42 seasons at Army, Indiana and Texas Tech while mentoring some of America’s best coaches. He also coached the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in 1984.
Villegas, Kim share lead in Los Cabos
Camilo Villegas has been working all year on his swing and had reason to hope it was starting to come together. He opened with an 8-under 64 and shared the lead with Michael Kim in the World Wide Technology Championship in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Cameron Young, who hasn’t played since the BMW Championship in August, and Matt Kuchar were among those one shot behind on a day of little wind and low scoring.
• Akie Iwai of Japan shot a 9-under 63 on Thursday to lead the first round of the LPGA’s Toto Japan Classic. Three other Japanese players — Nasa Hataoka, Yuna Nishimura, and Mone Inami — were a stroke back after rounds of 64 at the Taiheiyo Club in north central Japan.
Defending champion Gemma Dryburgh of Scotland was four back after a
67. American Rose Zhang was four back with a 68 in a very crowded field at the top.
Cruz, 43, retiring after 19 seasons, 464 HRs
Nelson Cruz says he is retiring at age 43 after hitting 464 home runs in 19 major league seasons.
The seven-time All-Star announced his decision on The Adam Jones Podcast.
“So this is the last we’re seeing of Nelson Cruz?” Jones asked.
“I think so, yeah,” Cruz responded.
Cruz was released by San Diego on July 10 after batting .245 with five homers and 23 RBIs in 49 games. He had signed a $1 million, one-year contract.
Cruz hit 18 postseason homers and played in consecutive World Series with the Texas Rangers in 2010 and ’11. He made five appearances among the top 10 in Most Valuable Player voting.
Cruz hit .274 with 1,325 RBIs for Milwaukee (2005), Texas (2006-13), Baltimore (2014), Seattle (2015-18), Minnesota (2019-21), Tampa Bay (2021), Washington (2022) and San Diego.
Swiatek beats Gauff at WTA Finals
U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff double-faulted four times in a row while serving for the second set and wound up losing 6-0, 7-5 to three-time major title winner Iga Swiatek in roundrobin action at the WTA Finals on a windy Wednesday night in Cancun, Mexico.
• Novak Djokovic stayed on track for the year-end No. 1 ranking for a record eighth time by beating Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday.