Houston’s C.J. Stroud was thrilled to chat with Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford on Thursday.
After the Texans and Rams practiced together before their Saturday preseason game, Stroud approached the group of quarterbacks, greeting everyone before talking to Stafford.
“I’ve been a fan of Matthew Stafford for a long time,” he said. “But I wasn’t trying to be a fan boy.”
Stroud took the chance to ask Stafford, who is in his 16th NFL season, for advice.
“I asked him a lot of questions,” Stroud said. “I tried to just learn, and he was really honest with me and wasn’t mean, which I appreciate. I’m definitely a huge fan of his. He’s one of my favorite quarterbacks of all time. Sharing a field with him was really cool.”
Both Stafford and Stroud got a lot of practice in during their two-hour joint session on Thursday. Neither quarterback is expected to play in Saturday’s final preseason game for both teams. Stafford, who has missed some practice with a tight hamstring, also has a cut on his left thumb.
“I’m not going to go into details,” Stafford said. “I cut it at my house, like a normal human being, and I have to protect it for a little bit. I’ll be fine.”
Stafford finds it humbling to have young quarterbacks like Stroud and Chicago’s Caleb Williams admire him. He recalls how he felt when he looked up to Brett Favre and Peyton Manning early in his career.
“I’ll never forget playing against Brett when he was in Minnesota and I was in Detroit. He came up to me and said: ‘Hey man, I’m a big fan,’” Stafford said. “I’m like: ‘You can’t say that to me. I’m the fan of you. I’ve been watching you play forever.’ So, it’s cool.”
