Stafford embarking on Year 17, will he - and his back - make the most of it?

Sean McVay announced that quarterback Matthew Stafford would miss the first week of training camp because of back soreness. The Rams adjusted Stafford's offseason and training-camp schedule to keep him fresh mentally, physically and emotionally entering Year 17. Reggie Scott led a modified plan aimed at preventing veteran players from feeling worn down before the 17-game slate. Stafford aggravated a disk during training between OTAs and camp and described it as something that crept up on him. The team limited his reps early in camp and remained cautious as they prepared to open the season against the Houston Texans.

As Sean McVay stood at the podium outside Loyola Marymount University to answer questions at the start of training camp, the Los Angeles Rams head coach told reporters that quarterback Matthew Stafford was dealing with back soreness and would miss the first week of practice. The Rams wanted to be smart with Stafford's back even at the expense of some training camp reps, McVay said, because "ultimately, it's about having him feel as good as possible mentally, physically, [and] emotionally going into Year 17."

Now, six weeks later, the Rams and Stafford are hopeful they have gotten to that point -- even if the path was longer than initially thought -- as they prepare to host the Houston Texans to open the season Sunday (4:25 ET, CBS). At age 37, Stafford is entering his fifth season in Los Angeles. This offseason, as McVay and Stafford planned for the year ahead, they found ways to keep him as fresh as possible by adjusting his schedule during the early phases of the offseason program.

Led by Reggie Scott, the Rams' vice president of sports medicine and performance, the team planned a modified training camp schedule for Stafford and other veteran players to avoid "unnecessarily pushing the envelope from a sports performance perspective where guys feel worn down before you've even played one of these 17 [games] that you're guaranteed," McVay said. Best laid plans had to change after Stafford aggravated a disk in his back while training during the break between OTAs and training camp. Stafford said there wasn't one incident but rather "something that crept up on me a little bit."

Read at ESPN.com