Roary
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- Mar 18, 2019
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Since’s he’s just 31, those of us in the world who are actually old sort of resent Matthew Stafford getting multiple days off to rest his arm during training camp.
But he said he think they’ll help him down the road, whether he needs them in August or not.
“I’m not 21 anymore, so it’s probably pretty good to, if you can find a place in the schedule where you think you can get some rest and just kind of feel fresh again, might as well,” Stafford said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
Going into his 11th season, the Lions planned to give him a long break between joint practices with the Texans and Patriots. With a pair of off-days sandwiched between a preseason game he didn’t play in and the regular breaks in the schedule, he got six days without throwing.
Stafford insisted he didn’t need it for medical reasons (he struggled with a back injury late last year but has been very durable).
“It’s not easy for me but it’s probably good for me in the long run,” Stafford said. “So something that coach Patricia and I had talked about and probably the right thing to do. But it was good, gave me a little bit of perspective, let me coach the guys a little bit more on the sideline. But yeah, it’s not easy as a competitor to sit out, but it’s probably the smart thing to do. . . .
“I just think it’s smart to, when you have chances, to try to take care of yourself. There was kind of a little bit of a break in the action for a couple days and then two quick ones at home so we were like, might as well do it.”
The Lions are expected to play Stafford and the starters about a quarter this week, giving him some game action.