Is Matthew Stafford playing tonight against the Lions in Week 7?
Week 7 offers Matthew Stafford in what may be an emotional reunion. His Los Angeles Rams welcome the Detroit Lions to Hollywood as two teams from opposite ends of the NFL power rankings battle. Stafford's Rams are 5-1, and his elite quarterback play is propelling them towards a playoff spot.
As for the Lions, they are winless in the post-Stafford era. Dan Campbell's team is in the early phases of a long, challenging rebuild. Stafford requested a trade to the Rams in February, and the Lions granted him his wish.
Despite the trade, Stafford bears no ill will to the Lions or the city of Detroit. As a large contingent of Lions fans head west to watch their team, it may be an emotional affair for many when the game kicks off.
The stage is set. On the hunt for a Week 7 win. https://t.co/izLpiFSAeB
Will Matthew Stafford play tonight against the Lions in Week 7?
Despite suffering a minor finger injury to his throwing hand a few weeks ago, Stafford is not listed on the injury report and is set to start against the Detroit Lions for Week 7.
This will be the first time that Stafford will get to play against the team that he called home for many years.
Stafford's playing days as a Detroit Lion
Matthew Stafford fell into the Detroit Lions' hands in the 2009 NFL Draft as the number one pick. The Lions finished the previous 2008 season 0-16, so Stafford had his work cut out for him.
Eventually, Stafford became a source of stability for the Lions. He set franchise records and dragged the team to improbable wins. The Lions organization repeatedly forced Stafford to do more with less, as a lack of talent around Stafford hampered his ability to win at a clip seen by more successful teams.
Nevertheless, Stafford embraced and absorbed the brunt of all things positive and negative and carried the team for 12 years.
After several nasty injuries and 12 years of not having help around him, Stafford decided that it was time for a change. Once the trade to the Rams for quarterback Jared Goff was finalized, the Lions thanked Stafford with a tear-inducing tribute video:
Stafford spoke well of his former organization ahead of tonight's game:
"Appreciated my time in Detroit, I appreciate all the players I played with all the coaches that coached me and everybody else on our team."
However, the veteran quarterback is not moving away from the job he must do for the Rams:
"I'm just kind of locked in on what we're doing here and trying to do everything I can to make sure we succeed here,"
Stafford will have that laser focus once again when he steps onto the field tonight. Nonetheless, it will be a focus team with perhaps a lot of emotion for Stafford.
In the cityyyy of L.A.
Keep it rockin, keep it rockin...
It's #Lions gameday!
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