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    Matthew Stafford doesn’t know what to tell his kids about Rams Christmas Day game

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    The NFL revealed its full schedule on Thursday night, and while the Los Angeles Rams will have a tough road to repeat another Super Bowl win, that doesn’t seem to be Matthew Stafford‘s biggest concern.

    One of Christmas Day matinee matchup for the Rams will be at home against the Denver Broncos and their new star quarterback, Russell Wilson. The game that is currently set to be broadcast on CBS and Nickelodeon.

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    Stafford said on NFL Network after the schedule release that his biggest worry on Christmas day may not be the Broncos’ defense, but rather what he’s going to tell his kids about where their presents are.

    Los Angeles Rams’ quarterback Matthew Stafford reacts with wife Kelly Hall and family after winning Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on February 13, 2022.  (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP)

    “That’s a great question. I hope my kids aren’t watching, but my wife Kelly was saying maybe we just tell the kids that Christmas is the next day,” Stafford said. “But, uh, I don’t know. I’m not really sure what we’re gonna do there. Turn the TV off Chandler and Sawyer if you’re watching. We’ll figure that out when we get there, but maybe that is a ‘Santa got stuck in the chimney, he’s a little bit late delivering the presents. We’ll see him after the game.’ I don’t know. Either that or I go over there super early in the morning but that doesn’t sound like a good plan.”

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    Matthew Stafford evades the Bengals defense. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

    Sports Illustrated reports that the Week 16 matchup will mark the first time Stafford has taken the field on Christmas day as an NFL quarterback.

    NFL schedule release: Rams’ first opponent announced as they look to defend Super Bowl

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    The Los Angeles Rams’ first game of the 2022 NFL regular season was revealed Thursday.

    The Rams will start their Super Bowl defense against another championship favorite: the Buffalo Bills. It’s customary for the Super Bowl champion to be in the first game of the regular season. Los Angeles was just waiting for who their opponent was going to be.

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    Matthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams passes during the game against the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium on Jan. 30, 2022 in Inglewood, California. The Rams defeated the 49ers 20-17. (Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)

    Los Angeles and Buffalo will play at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Sept. 8. Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.

    Von Miller, who helped anchor the defense for Los Angeles during their Super Bowl run, will return to the stadium in which he won his second ring. Miller signed with the Bills in the offseason and will be a part of a defense that was ranked first in points allowed and yards allowed.

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    Josh Allen will bring his high-flying offense and with him wide receivers Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis and newly signed Jamison Crowder. Dawson Knox and Devin Singletary are also back on offense.

    Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen (17) during game vs Kanas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City, MO. (David E. Klutho/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

    The Rams will have Super Bowl MVP Matthew Stafford guiding the offense once more. Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson and newly signed Allen Robinson are his targets. Cam Akers is expected to be at full health as well. Aaron Donald and Bobby Wagner will anchor the defense.

    Los Angeles Rams defensive end Aaron Donald (99) celebrates his sack of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) near the end of in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022 in Inglewood, CA. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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    Los Angeles will look to do the near-impossible: win back-to-back Super Bowls. It’s something that hasn’t been done since the 2003 and 2004 seasons by the New England Patriots.

    Matthew Stafford’s NFL Draft advice to Aidan Hutchinson: ‘Just enjoy it’

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    LAS VEGAS – Aidan Hutchinson will hear his name called in Las Vegas at the NFL Draft on Thursday night and it’s only a matter of how much time he’ll have to wait for that to happen.

    Hutchinson and Super Bowl-winning quarterback and former No. 1 overall draft pick Matthew Stafford were at Courtyard by Marriott’s “Bistro & Banter” event inside the Library at Marquee at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, the Autograph Collection on Wednesday night hours before the Jacksonville Jaguars were set to go on the clock.

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    Aidan Hutchinson and Super Bowl-winning quarterback and former No. 1 overall draft pick Matthew Stafford were at Courtyard by Marriott’s “Bistro & Banter” event Wednesday, April 27, 2022. (Doug Benc/AP Images for Courtyard by Marriott)

    The Los Angeles Rams star told Fox News Digital afterward he wasn’t worried about Hutchinson going through the draft process but wanted him to savor the moment.

    “To be honest, just enjoy it. Enjoy tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a special day for him and his family, all the people that helped him get to this position,” Stafford said. “Whenever he figures out where he’s going. Just embrace it and have fun with it. There’s going to be good times. There’s going to be bad times – learn from all of them and trust all the guys around him to help him get there. Just put his head down, go to work and he’ll be just fine.”

    Stafford is coming off his Super Bowl win with the Rams and is entering his second season with the organization. He told Fox News Digital he still feels like he’s the same person after winning his first Vince Lombardi Trophy.

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    “I wake up in the morning, feel like the same guy,” he said. “Go to work, see my same old teammates. And just try to continue to get better. I get to do a bunch of fun things like this with Courtyard by Marriott. To be honest, not too much has changed for me. But I am enjoying it.”

    Hutchinson and Stafford both sat for a Q&A session moderated by Dave Farra in an exclusive event for fans Wednesday, April 27, 2022, in Las Vegas.  (Doug Benc/AP Images for Courtyard by Marriott)

    Hutchinson and Stafford both sat for a Q&A session moderated by Dave Farra in an exclusive event for fans prior to talking to reporters. The two swapped personal football stories and travel stories while discussing their careers.

    It’s unclear where Hutchinson will land. Experts believe he will at least be in the top three if not the No. 1 overall pick come Thursday night.

    “No one’s told me where I’m going yet. I still got a little bit of time,” Hutchinson said before some Detroit Lions fans shouted their approval if somehow he slips to No. 2.

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    The Michigan standout said his whole family is set to be in his corner Thursday night.

    “We got the whole crew out here,” Hutchinson said. “We got the whole fam, about 20 family members. And then some of my friends are coming up from Michigan, my roommate’s here. We got a lot of people here. It’s going to be an early day, but I’m super excited for it.”

    Aidan Hutchinson said his whole family is set to be in his corner Thursday night. (Doug Benc/AP Images for Courtyard by Marriott)

    After the event was over, Courtyard by Marriott – the official hotel of the NFL – surprised some fans in attendance with 15 pairs of VIP tickets to the draft.

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    The NFL Draft’s first round begins 8 p.m. ET Thursday.

    Rams’ Matthew Stafford reflects on reaction to NFL photographer fall: ‘That obviously happened really quickly’

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    Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford expressed his regret on Tuesday with how he reacted to an NFL photographer falling off the stage during the team’s Super Bowl parade last week, saying he wished he had a “better reaction.” 

    Stafford, who took home the Lombardi Trophy with the Rams this season after 12 trying years with the Detroit Lions, joined his wife, Kelly Stafford, on her podcast “The Morning After” to discuss his viral reaction to Kelly Smiley’s fall off the stage, which left the photographer with a fractured spine. 

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    “We can’t not talk about what happened,” Kelly Stafford said on the podcast. “There was a photographer, who stepped off the back of the stage, had asked if we wanted a picture, and I was like, ‘Yes,’ because looking back at my camera roll, I have literally zero of Matthew and I.”

    Matthew Stafford (left) and Andrew Whitworth (center) of the Los Angeles Rams celebrate during the Super Bowl LVI Victory Parade on Feb. 16, 2022, in Los Angeles, California. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)

    “When she offered, she stepped back and fell,” she continued. “It was an awful, awful moment. Matthew looked at me and said, ‘Check her please,’ and turned around.”

    Kelly Stafford said she went straight over to Smiley and initially “could see that she was OK.”  

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    “We followed up with her, the moment we got in the car, Matthew actually looked at me and said, ‘Hey, will you contact the Rams, ask how she’s doing?’ Did that, they’re like, ‘We think she’s going to be OK.’ We sent her flowers. Next day we wake up, not OK.”

    Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford during the Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl LVI Championship parade on Feb. 16, 2022, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.  (Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

    Kelly Stafford went on to say that the quarterback texted Smiley, but his reaction had already gone viral at that point. 

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    “That obviously happened really quickly and suddenly and unexpectedly, and I wish I had a better reaction in the moment,” he said. “I didn’t apologize to her for that, but glad that all in all she’s doing alright. It’s one of those things that you try and train your reactions to be a little bit better next time.” 

    Matthew Stafford (left center) of the Los Angeles Rams celebrates on stage during the Super Bowl LVI Victory Parade on Feb. 16, 2022, in Los Angeles, California.  ( Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

    Matthew Stafford and the Rams announced they will pay the medical costs for Smiley and replace her broken cameras after falling off the stage, which appeared to be about 6 feet off the ground.

    Kelly Stafford has banned herself from attending Rams road games, explains pretzel-throwing drama

    Kelly Stafford, wife of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, finds herself in a pickle because of a pretzel. You still with me? Earlier this month a Rams road loss at the hands of the 49ers had Mrs. Stafford feeling salty, causing her to make like her husband and throw a dart. The only difference: Kelly was tossing a pretzel instead of pigskin and unlike her husband that night, she hit her intended target.

    On Tuesday’s edition of the “The Morning After” podcast, Kelly Stafford, the wife of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, announced she was self-imposing a Rams road game ban on herself after what transpired last week at Levi’s Stadium where she was escorted out of the Rams-49ers game after a pretzel-throwing incident.

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    Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

    Kelly says she was removed from the stadium just five minutes into the game when a fan started heckling and the QB’s wife launched a pretzel at the guy. It’s probably best she was kicked out. The Rams went on to get blown out 31-10.

    “I guess I hit him right in the head,” she explained on her aim with a piece of the pretzel she ripped off and launched behind her head. “Not an ideal response,” Kelly added.

    “I’m human, I make mistakes, and I own up to them, I don’t f—king hide from them, that’s not me.”

    DETROIT, MI – SEPTEMBER 11:  Matthew Stafford and Kelly Stafford arrive to Golden Tate’s 3rd Annual Stars and Strikes Bowling Event on September 11, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan.  (Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)

    “I’ve always been taught, I wear my heart on my sleeve so I do stuff probably in a hot second, but I also realize in a hot second, not the best, and I go up and I apologize.”

    Now that things have settled down after the pretzel incident, the mother of four has done some self-analysis.

    “Being a professional athlete’s significant other, you don’t wave want to bring attention to yourself negatively,” Kelly said. “I f–king lost it and here we are.”

    Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and Kelly Hall arrives at Cartoon Network Hall of Game Awards held at The Barker Hanger on February 21, 2011 in Santa Monica, California.

    As a side note, Kelly noted that she was completely sober during the incident.

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    “What I will change is that I won’t go to away games. You continue to say things, I’m going to have a very hard time holding my tongue,” she said.

    Matthew Stafford ‘not tough enough’ to play for Patriots, ex-Super Bowl champion linebacker says

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    Matthew Stafford played through major back issues within the last three years of his NFL career, but a former Super Bowl-champion linebacker said Thursday the quarterback is not tough enough to play for the New England Patriots.

    Tedy Bruschi, a former Patriots linebacker who won three titles with the team before joining ESPN as an NFL analyst, told 97.1 The Ticket that Stafford wouldn’t be able to handle being coached in New England.

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    “He’s not tough enough to play here. He’s just not tough enough,” Bruschi said. “I don’t think he’s tough enough to be coached hard. Do you realize the mental toughness that Tom Brady had to have for 20 years to deal with Bill Belichick and that type of coaching? I mean, constant pressure every single day. Does Stafford sort of grab you as a guy who could handle that? I just don’t think so.

    “He went to Sean McVay and his little best friend relationship and go have fun over there. That’s fine.”

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    Bruschi’s comments come about a week after the Detroit Lions traded Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for several draft picks and Jared Goff.

    In the wake of the blockbuster trade, NBC Sports Boston reported that Stafford was willing to go just about anywhere except for New England. The quarterback would have also been reunited with coach Matt Patricia who rejoined the Patriots’ staff in the offseason months after he was fired by the Lions. Patricia’s presence on the Patriots was “probably not a selling point,” according to the report.

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    Stafford’s toughness probably isn’t questionable. He had seven straight seasons of 4,000 or more passing yards but only made the playoffs three times. He reportedly played the 2018 season with “tiny fractures” in his back and was kept out for half of the 2019 season with further back issues.

    Kelly Stafford seemingly sends message to ‘replaceable’ Lions players

    It seems J.J. Watt’s impassioned speech from Sunday struck a chord with Matthew Stafford’s wife.

    Following Watt’s now-viral press conference, in which he spoke about accountability as a professional athlete, Kelly Stafford — who has been married to the Detroit Lions quarterback since 2015 — addressed the Pro Bowler’s comments on Instagram.

    “Finally someone said it,” Kelly wrote in an Instagram story, according to a screenshot from ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.

    “If you don’t wanna do it… Don’t worry, someone else will replace you real quick,” she continued.

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    Much like the 4-11 Texans, the Lions have also floundered this season, resulting in the midseason firing of head coach Matt Patricia. With a new regime coming to Detroit, questions about Stafford’s future have surfaced.

    “Real next impactful move is full start over and move on from Stafford,” Dan Orlovsky, a former Lion-turned-ESPN analyst, tweeted last month.

    “It’s time from both the organization standpoint and the player’s position, as well. It didn’t work out.”

    The Staffords themselves have endured a rocky 2020, which included multiple COVID-19 scares. Kelly — who shares four young children with the quarterback –has been openly critical of the NFL’s handling of what she called a “nightmare” situation.

    Kelly Stafford seemingly sends message to ‘replaceable’ Lions players

    It seems J.J. Watt’s impassioned speech from Sunday struck a chord with Matthew Stafford’s wife.

    Following Watt’s now-viral press conference, in which he spoke about accountability as a professional athlete, Kelly Stafford — who has been married to the Detroit Lions quarterback since 2015 — addressed the Pro Bowler’s comments on Instagram.

    “Finally someone said it,” Kelly wrote in an Instagram story, according to a screenshot from ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.

    “If you don’t wanna do it… Don’t worry, someone else will replace you real quick,” she continued.

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    Much like the 4-11 Texans, the Lions have also floundered this season, resulting in the midseason firing of head coach Matt Patricia. With a new regime coming to Detroit, questions about Stafford’s future have surfaced.

    “Real next impactful move is full start over and move on from Stafford,” Dan Orlovsky, a former Lion-turned-ESPN analyst, tweeted last month.

    “It’s time from both the organization standpoint and the player’s position, as well. It didn’t work out.”

    The Staffords themselves have endured a rocky 2020, which included multiple COVID-19 scares. Kelly — who shares four young children with the quarterback –has been openly critical of the NFL’s handling of what she called a “nightmare” situation.

    Kelly Stafford, wife of Lions quarterback, rails against Michigan’s latest coronavirus restrictions

    Kelly Stafford, the wife of Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, went on a rant against Michigan’s latest coronavirus restrictions in an Instagram video on Thursday.

    Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Sunday introduced a so-called “Three-Week Pause” in hopes to slow the spread of the coronavirus as the state reportedly broke its single-day case record over the last month, according to FOX2 Detroit.

    The pause started Wednesday, which affects in-person learning at schools, indoor-dining at restaurants, all organized sports except for professional, theaters, movie theaters, stadiums, arenas, bowling centers, ice rinks, water parks, bingo halls, casinos, arcades and group fitness classes.

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    Kelly Stafford said in her rant that she mostly felt for the small business owners. But retail businesses, salons, childcare and gyms were not affected by Whitmer’s order.

    “So I’m going to be very blunt: I’m so over it. I’m over living in a dictatorship that we call Michigan. I understand there’s a pandemic, and I understand it’s very scary. I’m scared of it too. If you are at risk, do not leave your house until there’s a vaccine,” she said.

    “But shutting down all these small businesses — things that people have worked their life for — shutting them down again is not the answer, because they will not make it. So once we are able to leave our house, once this dictatorship decides to let us have some freedom, there will be nothing left.

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    “I’m just over it. I see all these people and it brings me, like, to tears. I — and believe me, I know there’s people out there that are stating, ‘That’s really ignorant of you. How could you say that?’ Listen, I know not everybody’s going to agree with me. Not everybody’s going to agree with my every move I make. That’s life, OK? We state our opinions, we move on.

    “This is my opinion. I feel for these small businesses. It’s not that I don’t feel for people that have COVID, or the hospitals. I do. But this is my opinion. I do not feel like — I do not like living in a place where they tell me what I can and cannot do. I live once. Again, this is my opinion. You have yours, everyone has their own, and we chalk it up to that.”

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    The Stafford family has had a hard time navigating the coronavirus pandemic. Matthew Stafford was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list twice this year. He had one false-positive test before the season started.

    According to The Detroit News, she later apologized for her rant.

    “All right, y’all, here’s what I do best, coming back to apologize after I read some of your things and I get grounded a little bit. I’m really sorry. I was in the heat of the moment. I have a friend losing their business, and it’s just getting to me a little bit, so I apologize for calling it a dictatorship,” she said.

    Kelly Stafford also posted several photos showing which businesses Michigan residents could support during COVID restrictions.

    Lions place QB Matthew Stafford on Reserve/COVID-19 list

    Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, the second straight day the team gave a player the designation.

    The Lions announced Stafford’s status on Wednesday after finishing practice. Earlier in the day, Matt Patricia said there was no requirement to shut down the team’s training facility. Some NFL teams have closed their training centers after players and or staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

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    “There’s no need for any of that, as far as our situation,” Patricia said a couple hours before leading practice. “I can’t speak to the future.

    “Everybody across the country, especially in Michigan right now, with the cases going up, really no one knows what the next day is going to look like. We just have to do the best we can to stay safe.”

    The Lions put linebacker Jarrad Davis on the list Tuesday.

    Detroit (3-4) plays at Minnesota (2-5) on Sunday, and Stafford’s status is unknown.

    Stafford’s backups are Chase Daniel and David Blough. The 34-year-old Daniel has started five games in his career. Blough started five games last year with the Lions after they acquired the undrafted rookie from the Cleveland Browns.

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    Three months ago, the Lions removed Stafford from the COVID-19 list after saying he received a false positive test result. The news received a lot of attention due to his stature in the league and because his wife, Kelly, had surgery last year to remove a brain tumor.

    Kelly Stafford had plenty to say on her Instagram page in August after the false positive test, lashing out at the league for publicly putting her husband on the list.

    Detroit drafted Stafford No. 1 overall in 2009. He ranks No. 18 in league history with nearly 43,000 yards and is No. 18 on the all-time list with 269 touchdowns in his career.