Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford left a joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys early on Wednesday due to hamstring tightness, according to a team spokesperson.
Stafford missed about half of the session but stayed on the sidelines in his gear and didn’t appear to show any serious injury during or after the two-hour practice.
“(Stafford) operates at a world class level,” offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. “But we know that every rep is going to be valuable for him, no matter how many plays he’s had. Unfortunately, he had some tightness.”
In Stafford’s absence, Jimmy Garoppolo took over with the first-team offense. This was especially important because Garoppolo missed the preseason opener against the Cowboys and is expected to miss the remaining exhibition games.
Garoppolo will be suspended for the first two games of the regular season due to a violation of the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy.
“Anytime you get those ops, particularly against a defense like this with all the players they got, is going to be valuable,” LaFleur said.
Stetson Bennett took over Garoppolo’s snaps with the backups, following a performance where he threw four interceptions but then led a late touchdown drive against the Cowboys.
Coach Sean McVay mentioned Tuesday that Bennett would need to show more improvement after being away from the team last season to focus on his mental health to secure the backup spot behind Stafford for the games against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 8 and the Arizona Cardinals the following week.
“He did some good things, but we got to work on the turnovers, no doubt,” LaFleur said. “But there were a lot of positives for him to be able to get out here and practice.”
