Matthew Stafford participates in full week of Rams practice, and his injured back feels much better

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Matthew Stafford has completed his first full week of practice since the start of training camp, and the Los Angeles Rams ' starting quarterback says he is optimistic about the improvement in his injured back.

Stafford went through a third full practice Thursday with no restrictions in his movements or throws. Although Stafford and coach Sean McVay didn't definitively state it, Stafford appears to be in position to play for the Rams in their regular-season opener against Houston on Sept. 7.

“Good thing is I feel pretty good the last couple of days out there practicing,” Stafford said at the Rams’ training complex in Woodland Hills. “Was able to do even a little bit more than I thought I was going to be able to do the first day, and then just been trying to stack days.”

Stafford said he has done “everything under the sun” to deal with an irritated disk in his back. The injury developed while he trained after the Rams' minicamp this summer, and it kept the Super Bowl winner sidelined for the first 3 1/2 weeks of training camp and the preseason.

Stafford returned to practice Monday initially planning to do only individual drills, but he was pleasantly surprised by his ability to do everything with relative ease. He participated in another full practice Thursday, throwing to his teammates against a live pass rush while building the chemistry necessary to compete in the regular season, particularly with new receiver Davante Adams.

“I definitely felt more like myself out there today,” Stafford said. “I’m going to do everything I can to be out there while still being smart and knowing, hey, we’ve got something that deserves a little attention.”

McVay was clearly encouraged by Stafford's progress during the week. Stafford participated in every aspect of every practice, the coach said.

“He looks like the stud that we know,” McVay said. “I think the first day was kind of getting comfortable, just getting his feet wet a little bit, and then I think each of the last couple of days, he’s played really fast.”

The 37-year-old Stafford's balky back has been one of the Rams' two major injury concerns — along with the blood clots sidelining left tackle Alaric Jackson — as the defending NFC West champions prepare to begin a season with Super Bowl aspirations.

Stafford watched training camp from the sideline at Loyola Marymount when he wasn't going through rehab work and off-field treatment. He did individual workouts on the days of the Rams' first two preseason games, but he didn't get back into practice until Monday.

“From what I see, there’s no restrictions and he’s playing at a really high level," McVay said. “I’m very excited and optimistic, but I’m not a doctor.”

Even after initially stating that Stafford would only miss the first week of training camp, McVay repeatedly said he thought Stafford's injury wasn't serious enough to keep him out if the Rams had been playing games that counted.

The coach finally seemed less certain of Stafford's sturdiness last week when the quarterback had to scrap his plan to rejoin practices because his back wasn't up to it — only for Stafford to exceed his own expectations in practice this week.

“Backs are sometimes interesting things,” Stafford said. “It’s not cut-and-dried what’s what, and how you’re going to feel.”

Stafford is one of many Rams veterans who won't travel to Cleveland this weekend for their final preseason game. McVay said fourth-stringer Dresser Winn will start against the Browns after Stetson Bennett played well while taking nearly all of the snaps in Los Angeles' first two preseason games.

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