Matthew Stafford is an American athlete playing in the National Football League as the starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams. He is considered one of the more competitive quarterbacks in the league, with numerous accolades and praise across the sports industry. He is considered a veteran of the league with 14 seasons and has earned multiple NFL records, including the most fourth-quarter comebacks in a season in 2016, the most passing attempts in a season in 2012, and is the first player to complete 60% or more of passes in every in an entire season.
He won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award in 2011 and one Pro Bowl in 2014. The vast majority of his career was spent with the Detroit Lions from 2009 until he transferred to the Rams in 2020. His current career statistics stand at over 7,000 pass attempts, more than 4,500 pass completions, and a completion percentage above 63%.
Before becoming a professional athlete, Stafford competed in college football at the University of Georgia from 2006 until 2008. During this period, Stafford became a first-team All-American. During the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft, the lions selected Stafford as their first pick to become their starting quarterback.
A couple of years later, he would become the fastest NFL athlete to earn 40,000 passing yards and led the Lions to their first playoff appearance since 1999 in 2011. Before leaving the Lions, he led them to postseason competitions in 2014 and 2016. However, the highest point of his career occurred after he was transferred to the Rams for the 2021 season. During his first seasons with the LA franchise, Stafford led the Rams to victory in Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals, under the helm of Joe Burrow, by a score of 23-20.
