Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has multiple new teammates this season. One teammate he is most excited to no longer have to face is two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett.
Garrett spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Cleveland Browns before the Rams traded for him this offseason. Before becoming teammates, Stafford said figuring out how to overcome Garrett was like playing chess.
“Well, luckily I don’t have to block him,” Stafford said, per the team’s official website. “It’s awesome, right? I remember playing him a couple years ago and every single play it is a chess matchup. ‘Okay, where is he? Can we run the play that we’re going to run or can we not?’ And then he affects every time you drop back to throw the football, right? And shoot, hand it off and run it as well.
“But he’s just a game-changing player. He’s a proven, elite player in this league and we’re happy to have him. It’s obviously young in his journey here. I’ve been in those shoes before a little bit. I didn’t have the pedigree that he had coming in that he has right now, but he’s done a great job of just figuring out what we’re about, understanding how we go about things, and fitting right in. I mean, it’s hard not to when you’re as good a player as he is.”
There Are High Expectations For Garrett This Season
Acquiring Garrett from the Browns was arguably the biggest move of the offseason.
Coming off a record-breaking season with Cleveland, there are some big expectations for Garrett in his first season with the Rams, as Los Angeles is the favorite to win Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium.
After the team’s first practice of training camp on Sunday, Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula says Garrett has lived up to his expectations so far.