Matthew Stafford, left, and his wife, Kelly, arrive at the ESPY Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Quarterback Matthew Stafford will begin the Los Angeles Rams' training camp on the sidelines while recovering from back soreness.

Stafford is only expected to miss the first “block” of roughly four practices in training camp, coach Sean McVay said Tuesday as the Rams reported to work at Loyola Marymount University.

“He had a little bit of soreness in his back that kind of crept up,” McVay said. “He’s been throwing, feeling good. It’s not anything that’s necessarily new. It’s something that he’s dealt with before.”

McVay already had a plan in place to limit Stafford's overall work in training camp, and the back soreness will push his camp debut back to next week at the earliest. The 10th-leading passer in NFL history was already expected to sit out occasional practices as he ramps up for his 17th season, and McVay traditionally does not use any key players in the preseason.

The 37-year-old Stafford is beginning his fifth season with the Rams, who acquired him from Detroit in 2021 and immediately won the Super Bowl in February 2022.

McVay said Stafford is expected to return to the field after the five-day “acclimation period” to begin camp. Backup Jimmy Garoppolo will run the Rams' offense in the early practices.

“Ultimately, it's about having him feel as good as possible going into Year 17,” McVay said. “And that's where you do feel good about having a guy like Jimmy to step in and do a great job for the first few practices, and then Matthew will be ready to roll.”

Stafford is playing this season with a substantial raise after a second straight offseason of financial discontent. This dispute was resolved more quickly than last year's standoff, and Stafford participated in the Rams' offseason workout programs to begin forming a bond with new receiver Davante Adams.

“If he was a first-year player, I think you'd say, ‘Man, every rep really matters,’” McVay said. “I think the important thing is having a big-picture perspective with a guy going into Year 17, based on this being something that he's had before and dealt with through different parts of his career. He's so in tune with his body, and talking with him, I feel really good.”

McVay also expressed optimism about Alaric Jackson while outlining the Rams' recovery plan for their starting left tackle. Jackson had a reoccurrence of blood clots in his lower leg during the offseason, shortly after he agreed to a three-year, $57 million deal to stay with the Rams.

Jackson will not go on a restricted list to start training camp, but will do individual workouts while ramping up deliberately to full strength. McVay didn't want to guarantee that Jackson will be ready for the start of the season, but the Rams are optimistic.

“I do feel good about the plan we have in place that hopefully leads to him being able to go out and compete with his teammates,” McVay said. “I know he's really feeling good. He's handled this like a total stud. ... He's got a lot of people that love him that are with him on this journey.”

Los Angeles signed veteran offensive tackle D.J. Humphries in June as a backup plan if Jackson has any delays in his progress.

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