Matthew Stafford has earned his reputation as one of the toughest players in the NFL over the years. He proved it was valid in a 2020 season that saw him play every game despite suffering myriad injuries throughout the year.
Stafford detailed all the injuries in an interview with Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press. It’s a pretty lengthy list that impacted almost every part of his body at one point or another.
“I mean, this past year was bad,” he admits. “I had the partially torn UCL in my right thumb, I tore my UCL on my left elbow on the second to last play of the Houston game that nobody knew about, trying to stiff arm a guy. That’s why I started wearing a sleeve on my left arm because I had all sorts of tape underneath it, just to hold it in place.
“I broke my cartilage on my eighth rib in Green Bay. I also tore something (in the back of) my left knee. And then I had a subtalar, right ankle sprain.”
Stafford admitted to Albom that he didn’t want to speak up about his injuries during the season because he knew people in Detroit were suffering through much worse off-the-field situations.
All those injuries came in a season following two straight years where he broke bones in his back. Stafford earned his status as one of the NFL’s most valiant warriors in Detroit.
