Rams have timetable for Matthew Stafford's recovery from sore back but don't plan to make it public

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Rams have a timetable for quarterback Matthew Stafford's recovery from a sore back, but Los Angeles coach Sean McVay does not plan on making it public to avoid the perception of a possible setback.

Stafford is missing his second straight week of training camp because of an ailment that has been bothering him in recent weeks.

McVay has been steadfast in his optimism that Stafford, 37, won't miss the season opener against Houston on Sept. 7.

“At this point, there is a plan in place. But what I don’t want to do is give you guys a date and then, you know, if that does change, then there’s assumptions that I would imagine that I would have if I was in your guys’ shoes that can lead you to think, ‘Oh man, something’s really up,’” McVay said Tuesday. “So we are week to week with him. ... What I don’t want to do is set a timetable with you guys, and then, if for whatever reason as we’re continuing to gain information, that changes. But what I can say is I feel good about this is the smartest plan for him, and we’re very confident that he’ll be ready to roll against the Texans, and we’ll take it a week at a time.”

Stafford has guided the Rams into the playoffs in three of his four seasons with the team, leading them to a Super Bowl title in their home stadium to cap off his first year in Los Angeles following the 2021 campaign. But the veteran going into his 17th season also missed games in 2022 and 2023 because of injuries, prompting the Rams to add a proven backup in Jimmy Garoppolo before last season.

The presence of Garoppolo, who has started 64 games for New England, San Francisco, Las Vegas and the Rams, is allowing the Rams to continue preparations for the season during camp at Loyola Marymount University as they would have with Stafford running the offense.

McVay described Garoppolo as one of the main reasons the Rams can afford to be patient with Stafford’s health.

“There’s nobody like Matthew, we know that, but to be able to have somebody that has done all the things that you’re mentioning, going into Year 12, played in big games. ... Now we’re still able to evaluate the other 10 around him, and we’re able to kind of continue on with the installations where that hasn’t always been the case with us if we needed to be smart and rest Matthew,” McVay said. “We’ll certainly be really excited when we get No. 9 back out here for us, but in the meantime, I’ve been really pleased with Jimmy.”

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Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford watches an NFL football practice Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Los Angeles, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, left, talks with quarterback Matthew Stafford, right, during an NFL football practice Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Los Angeles, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A former Polish justice minister who faces prosecution in his homeland over alleged abuse of power said Monday that he has been granted asylum in Hungary.

Zbigniew Ziobro was a key figure in the government led by the nationalist conservative Law and Justice party that ran Poland between 2015 and 2023. That administration established political control over key judicial institutions by stacking higher courts with friendly judges and punishing its critics with disciplinary action or assignments to far-away locations.

Current Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government came to power more than two years ago with ambitions to roll back the changes, but efforts to undo them have been blocked by two successive presidents aligned with the national right.

In October, prosecutors requested the lifting of Ziobro's parliamentary immunity to press charges against him. They allege among other things that Ziobro misused a fund for victims of violence, including for the purchase of Israeli Pegasus surveillance software.

Tusk’s party says Law and Justice used Pegasus to spy illegally on political opponents while in power. Ziobro says he acted lawfully.

Hungary, led by nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has hosted several politicians close to Law and Justice while Polish authorities were seeking them.

In a lengthy post on X Monday, Ziobro wrote that he had “decided to accept the asylum granted to me by the government of Hungary due to the political persecution in Poland.”

“I have decided to remain abroad until genuine guarantees of the rule of law are restored in Poland,” he said. “I believe that instead of acquiescing to being silenced and subjected to a torrent of lies — which I would have no opportunity to refute — I can do more by fighting the mounting lawlessness in Poland.”

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Budapest on Monday that Hungarian authorities have granted asylum to “several” individuals who would face political persecution in Poland, according to his ministry. He declined to specify their names.

In an English-language post on X, Tusk wrote that “the former Minister of Justice(!), Mr. Ziobro, who was the mastermind of the political corruption system, has asked the government of Victor Orbán for political asylum.”

“A logical choice,” he added.

FILE - The leader of the Polish junior coalition partners Zbigniew Ziobro, speaks to reporters alongside in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, file)