The Los Angeles Rams’ Week 8 loss to the Dallas Cowboys was more costly than just the game result as the team saw Matthew Stafford hurt his thumb.
Stafford initially injured his thumb after hitting a player’s helmet then later aggravated on his two-point conversion catch. The veteran was forced out of the game and did not return with Los Angeles trailing.
Sean McVay recently announced that Stafford is considered a game-time decision for their Week 9 matchup against the Green Bay Packers. Stafford is as tough as they come and will be out there if he says he’s fine enough to go.
However, should Stafford sit the game out, Brett Rypien is ready to step in and is preparing as if he will start, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com
“Whenever they tell me… I’m going to prepare like I’m the starter either way this week,” Rypien said after Wednesday’s practice. “That’s what you do all the time, but especially when a guy is dealing with an injury and he is not practicing it definitely heightens that level of awareness and you’re getting ready to go.”
Rypien’s no stranger to adverse situations and believes his experience up to this point will help him do whatever the Rams need on game day:
“I think that in my five years in the NFL, I’ve kind of been through every type of situation that you can possibly go through during training camp,” Rypien said. “I’ve been the third string active. I’ve been the backup. I’ve had moments where I’ve played obviously, had three starts. I think the one consistent that I’ve taken from it all is you just have to try to find a way to get better each week and just continue to focus on the task at hand and that’s your job as a football player and trying to learn and get better.
“A lot of times as a backup, you don’t get to see the rewards of that. You don’t get to reap the rewards of that when you’re not seeing a tangible result on Sundays but you get the respect from your teammates and stuff like that by the way that you prepare every single day. You come in and be the same guy and you practice hard and that’s what I try to do.”
Rypien showed some minor flashes in his short stint against the Cowboys, so McVay can feel a little confident that the backup can control the offense enough to hopefully secure a win before the team’s much-needed bye week.
