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Sarah Barshop, ESPN Staff Writer
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford downplayed his wife’s comments that he was having trouble jelling with his younger teammates, saying he “definitely” feels connected to the other players in the locker room.
Stafford’s wife, Kelly, made the comments on her podcast, “The Morning After With Kelly Stafford” at the end of August.
Stafford joked on Wednesday that he was going to come out for his press conference with a newspaper under his arm and wearing “some spectacles” to set the mood.
“But it turns out you can’t even find a newspaper around here,” Stafford said, “so I couldn’t do that. I was going to try to have some fun with it.
“But no. It’s been great to … I love coming to work. I love working with these guys. And they all know that.”
When asked whether he had to address Kelly’s comments with anyone in the locker room, Stafford said, “No.”
“I think those guys understand where I’m coming from,” Stafford said. “They see me come in this building every single day and know how I go to work, know how I interact with everybody and we didn’t really think too much about it to be honest with you.”
“I’m not too worried about it. Nobody in the locker room’s too worried about it, I can promise you that. We’ve completely moved on. Not that we’ve ever really stopped to think about it, to be honest with you, but yeah, I’m not too worried about it.”
Stafford, 35, said the turnover in the Rams’ locker room isn’t unlike what happens on teams around the league.
“Every team is different,” Stafford said. “Every team is new. We happen to have a lot of young guys on our team, a lot of rookies that have come in and done a heck of a job and earned roles on our football team, are going to be big parts of our season. And that’s exciting. But every season, every team is different. And that’s the great part about this game is you get exposure to all different kinds of people from all different places and different places in their life.
“And I love being a part of that. … Probably my favorite thing is coming into the locker room and being a part of that.”