Will Matthew Stafford Play in Week 9? (2023 Fantasy Football)

Week 9 has arrived! Unfortunately, the injury watch for fantasy managers is also here. Players who appear on the Friday injury report and haven’t practiced much during the week can often lead to trepidation for managers trying to make lineup decisions and/or waiver claims. Don’t fret, though – FantasyPros is here to provide you with all of the latest news and updates on the players who are questionable heading into the weekend. Here is the latest on Rams’ QB Matthew Stafford, who is dealing with a sprained UCL in his right thumb.

Matthew Stafford (thumb) listed questionable for Week 9

Matthew Stafford has been listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Packers. (Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Stafford is expected to be a game-time decision after suffering a thumb injury last week. He did not practice all week, but he has played before in weeks where he did not practice. If he is sidelined, it would be Brett Rypien starting.

#Rams QB Matthew Stafford will test things out pregame in an attempt to play Week 9, but the expectation is that he'll be unavailable, according to multiple reports.

Brett Rypien is expected to start at QB for Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/IYPC1njfMh

— FantasyPros (@FantasyProsNFL) November 5, 2023

Check out our NFL News Desk for the latest injury news

What the Experts Are Saying

TBD but we’d lean towards him sitting Week 9 with likely return Week 11 after the bye. This is mostly a question of grip strength, but it’s rare to be able to decrease swelling fast enough to play just one week after injury.

– Deepak Chona, MD

#NFL Injury Updates:#Rams Matthew Stafford – TBD. Lean towards sitting Wk 9, return Wk 11 (Wk 10 = bye). Hard to get thumb swelling down in just 1 week#Browns Deshaun Watson – Playing. Most rotator cuff strains at 6 wks would be near 100%. Likely no performance dip

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— Deepak Chona, MD. SportsMedAnalytics (@SportMDAnalysis) November 4, 2023