Kelly Stafford revealed that a nagging rib injury left her husband, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, coming home miserable after practice.
Matthew broke four ribs in Week 15 against the San Francisco 49ers, but decided to play despite the injury.
On the latest episode of his Timeout podcast, Kelly shared how not telling the team about his situation affected the quarterback.
“He broke four ribs,” Kelly revealed. But he didn't really let anyone know much about it. (He) continued his daily process as if nothing was wrong, he would come home and be miserable.'
Matthew aggravated the injury in the Rams' divisional playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday and acknowledged it after the game.
The quarterback admitted that he had been dealing with pain “to varying degrees for some time.” Matthew also added that he “was able to calm him down” and “I didn't feel like he was a big factor” against Philadelphia.
Matthew Stafford broke four ribs in the regular season and aggravated them in the playoffs
Additionally, he publicly shared how he would take time to decide between retiring and returning to the field next season.
Rams coach Sean McVay said Stafford hurt his rib early against the Eagles, referring to him as “beat up.”
But he is a warrior. It's very tough,” McVay said. “He represents so many right things about what this team has become, especially for a city that is hurting and going through different things (the wildfires that hit Los Angeles this month).
“I think he embodies a lot of the things he has in terms of toughness, resilience and ability to overcome adversity. He's a total fucking stud. And I thought he was outstanding tonight with the opportunities he was given. … I'm very proud by Matthew Stafford.
Stafford was never added to the injury report after Week 15 despite missing practice due to a coach's decision after clinching their division title.
He completed 340 of 517 attempts for 3,762 yards and 20 touchdowns as the Rams finished with a 10-7 record.