Matthew Stafford started the season throwing to Puka Nacua, Davante Adams and Terrance Ferguson. When he takes the field on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, he won’t have a single one of them out there with him.
It’s the harsh reality of the NFL, where injuries happen every week – something the Rams are all too familiar with this year. And as crushing as the losses of Nacua and Adams are at wide receiver, Stafford isn’t worried.
He told reporters on Wednesday that he has “a ton of trust” in the Rams’ other receivers, having thrown to them every day in practice.
“Obviously, there are not as many snaps that I have with those guys out there that are going to be playing than Puka and Davante that I've accrued over the years. But I still throw
those guys every single day in practice and have a ton of trust in what they can do,” Stafford said. “Just like me, we have to go out there and just trust our fundamentals. Whatever it is, my job on that play is to go, 1A, 1B, and move on through my progression. I'm going to do that. With those guys, trust the route-running techniques that they have. Trust themselves to go out there and make plays because these guys are here for a reason. I'm excited for their opportunity.”
The receivers Stafford is talking about are Konata Mumpfield, Tutu Atwell and even CJ Daniels. In addition to Adams and Nacua being out, Jordan Whittington has also been placed on IR with a back injury, so he’s unavailable, too.
Though their production hasn’t been great this year, Mumpfield and Atwell have both played a lot of snaps with Stafford. Atwell joined the Rams as a rookie in 2021 when Stafford was acquired in a trade and has spent the last five years in L.A. Mumpfield played 375 snaps on offense last season and has already played 269 this year.
Both players have been asked to step up before, particularly when the Rams were without either Nacua or Adams. But this time around, they’ll both be called upon as Los Angeles’ top two targets.
Stafford didn’t seem to trust anyone besides Nacua last week, but he’ll have no choice but to trust his other guys in the coming weeks while his primary receivers are sidelined. He's excited about the opportunity to let it rip on Sunday.
“No, it's not difficult to pull the trigger," he added. "I trust those guys. What's a bad recipe is just holding onto it forever, too. At some point you have to let it go. I trust those guys to be in the right spots and that's what this game's all about. It's going out there, trusting your teammates, cutting it loose. We know what these plays are supposed to look like when executed properly. Let's go do it. I have a good feeling on Sunday.”
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Matthew Stafford has 'a ton of trust' in Rams' backup WRs
