- Matthew Stafford was put in NFL concussion protocol for the second time this season.
- Kelly: “If I’m healthy enough to go, I’m gonna go” when asked if he might play again.
- Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford entered the concussion protocol on November 9.
Kelly Stafford isn’t joking around when it comes to her husband’s health.
Matthew Stafford was put in NFL concussion protocol for the second time this season, and more than a week later, Kelly expressed her opinions on whether or not the Los Angeles Rams quarterback might make a comeback.
“If it was up to me, you guys know how I would feel but it’s not up to me,” she said on the Nov. 29 episode of The Morning After podcast. “It’s my husband and what he worked for…I love that he’s a competitor. I love that he wants to be out there.”
When Kelly questioned why Matthew would want to go back out on the football field and compete, his answer impressed her.
“He looked at me and said, ‘If I’m healthy enough to go, the players rely on me,” she recalled. “‘My teammates, the coach, the owner, everyone relies on me and I have to earn the paycheck. I was paid to play. I wasn’t paid to sit. So if I’m healthy enough to go, I’m gonna go.’ You can’t really fight with that.”
Since Matthew was still exhibiting symptoms when the podcast was being recorded on November 28, Kelly stated it was difficult to predict when he would be able to play again.
For the time being, she keeps expressing her desire for the NFL to alter the surfaces on which players compete. She prefers playing on grass grounds to team turf.
“My thing is again, the head slamming on the turf,” she said. “That is where the push needs to be…My take is, ‘How are you not pushing this when you know concussions are a problem?’ It’s an easy fix.”
Kelly added, “He’s always going to be at risk when he plays this game and I know they ‘sign up for it.’ But if you can make better working conditions for your employees, why not do it?”
Sean McVay, the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams, announced Matthew had entered the concussion protocol on November 9. On Nov. 20, when he returned to the game, he sustained another injury, which returned him to the protocol list.
“I know he’s not ready to give it up,” Kelly said on a previous podcast episode. “He has to be the one to make that decision and I know he’s not ready and I know there will be a time when he is…I know right now is not the end and that’s a hard thing to wrap my head around.”
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