LOS ANGELES (AP) — Matthew Stafford wrapped up the first day of training camp for the Los Angeles Rams on Wednesday by lofting a touchdown pass during a red-zone drill.
Whether the throw would have happened without the financial adjustment the Super Bowl-winning quarterback hashed out with the team on Tuesday, Stafford wasn’t saying.
“Don’t even think about that kind of stuff,” Stafford said. “In this business, I’m play to play, I’m day to day, I’m moment to moment, so I’m just happy to be doing this and today was a great start for our team.”
Stafford was on the field at Loyola Marymount University to begin preparations for his fourth season with the Rams and 16th in the NFL, looking to build on a bounce-back campaign and ready to put to rest any lingering consternation about his contract.
Stafford, 36, spent the offseason trying to get the four-year, $160 million dollar deal he signed shortly after leading the Rams to a championship modified to include more guaranteed money, which was not included on the final two years of the deal following the upcoming season.
Although terms of the modification he and the Rams agreed to have not been disclosed, Stafford is pleased with the outcome.
“It was a good agreement,” Stafford said. “Like, listen, I’m happy to be where I am, you know what I mean? I’m happy to be here, I’m happy to be playing. I’m excited about playing football this year, and that’s what matters to me the most, to be honest with you.”
The resolution allowed Stafford to focus on the field, where the variety and versatility of the Rams’ offense was on full display. Stafford threw passes to standout wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua and handed the ball off to 1,100-yard rusher Kyren Williams and rookie running back Blake Corum.
Stafford also featured tight ends Davis Allen and Colby Parkinson in the passing game.
Allen, entering his second season out of Clemson, was the target of Stafford’s last throw of the day into the end zone. Parkinson signed a three-year contract with the Rams in March after playing his first four seasons for NFC West rival Seattle.
They will be featured extensively in camp with longtime starter Tyler Higbee on the physically unable to perform list after sustaining a serious knee injury in the NFC wild-card loss to the Detroit Lions in January.
“I think that room is a really pretty, pretty awesome room when you look at it top to bottom,” Stafford said. “It’s been great watching Davis mature and come into his own. ... Always liked (Colby’s) game from afar, and it’s been really fun to get to work with him.”
Stafford threw for 3,965 yards and 24 touchdowns against 11 interceptions in 15 games last season despite significant roster turnover because of salary cap issues. Those changes created opportunities for new contributors to emerge, to say nothing of Nacua, a fifth-round draft pick who surprisingly broke out as one of the most dangerous receivers in the NFL.
With those pieces all back together, Stafford expects the Rams to sustain and build on their offensive success.
“It’s one thing to have continuity,” Stafford said. “It’s another thing to have continuity with a bunch of really good players, so that’s a plus, too.”
NOTES: NT Kobie Turner did not practice because of a groin strain. “We’re going to be smart with him,” coach Sean McVay said. ... RG Kevin Dotson left practice because of an apparent left foot injury but McVay did not believe it was anything serious. ... CB Tre’Davious White was a limited participant as he works his way back from the torn Achilles tendon he sustained in Week 4 last season with the Buffalo Bills.
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FILE - Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford gets set to run a play against the Detroit Lions during an NFL wild-card playoff football game, Jan. 14, 2024, in Detroit. The Rams have come to a resolution with Stafford to avoid a potential holdout during training camp, which starts Wednesday, July 24 at Loyola Marymount University. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski, file)
A 14-year-old boy stands charged with four counts of murder, accused of using a semiautomatic assault-style rifle to kill two students and two teachers this week at his high school in Georgia. Colt Gray had his first hearing Friday after being charged as an adult in the latest mass shooting at a school in the U.S.
Immediately after that hearing, his father, 54-year-old Colin Gray, appeared in the same courtroom, charged with multiple offenses for allowing his son to have a weapon.
The shooting Wednesday morning at Apalachee High School in Winder, outside Atlanta, has left the father and son behind bars, families planning funerals and people wondering what happened and why.
WHAT WE KNOW: Colt Gray was in algebra class when he left the classroom, according to classmates. One believed he was skipping class again. But Gray returned and knocked for someone to open the locked door. Students who went to the door saw something through the window and backed away. Classmate Lyela Sayarath said she saw Gray turn and then heard gunshots — “10 or 15 of them at once, back-to-back.” A school resource officer found the shooter, who surrendered at 10:26 a.m. Authorities say the suspect killed four people. Nine others were hurt, seven of them shot. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says the suspect acted alone.
WHAT WE DON'T KNOW: Authorities have not identified a motive for the shootings. Officials also have not said where in the school the victims were shot. Eyewitness accounts indicate some were shot in a hallway and at least one in a classroom, however. It’s also not known how the suspect got to school that day, whether he took a bus or got a ride; how the gun got into the school; and where it was ahead of the shooting. Authorities say the school does not have metal detectors.
WHAT WE KNOW: Authorities have identified the four people killed as students Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, both 14, and math teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. The eight students and one teacher who were taken to the hospital are expected to make full recoveries. Angulo’s sister Lisette described him on a GoFundMe fundraiser for his funeral as “a very good kid and very sweet and so caring.” A neighbor of Schermerhorn said he was an inquisitive boy who he watched grow up from around age 4.
Irimie was a recent immigrant from Romania who also helped teach a children’s dance group. Aspinwall was also the defensive coordinator for the high school football team, an old-style football coach who loved his wife, daughters, students and football, according to the head coach.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW: Just as we don't know a motive for the shootings, it’s not known if the shooter targeted the victims or it was merely chance.
WHAT IS KNOWN: Colt Gray faces four counts of murder, but officials said Friday that more charges are coming. This isn’t the teen's first interaction with authorities, who interviewed him over a social media post last year about possibly threatening to shoot up a middle school. Gray, then 13, said “he would never say such a thing, even in a joking manner,” according to a report filed by investigators. No action was taken because of inconsistent information about the social media account.
Colin Gray told the investigator back then that Colt had access to unloaded guns in the house but knew “how to use them and not use them.” He also said his son had struggled since he and his wife separated and Colt was picked on in school. The two shot guns together, and the elder Gray showed the investigator a cellphone photo of the boy from a recent trip with blood on his cheeks after shooting his first deer. It was “the greatest day ever,” the father said.
WHAT IS NOT KNOWN: Not much is known about the Grays between the investigator's visit in May 2023 and the shooting. They had lived in a neighboring county at the time of the interview but moved to Winder at some point. Investigative reports indicated when Colin Gray separated from his wife, two younger children moved with her but Colt lived with his dad. He was a recent transfer to Apalachee High School and missed a lot of classes, fellow students said.
WHAT WE KNOW: Colin Gray, who works construction, became the first parent of a school shooting suspect to be charged in Georgia, District Attorney Brad Smith said Friday. But in Michigan, two parents were previously convicted in a similar case. Gray has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children for knowingly allowing his son to possess a gun that authorities say was used in the shooting.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW: Even though authorities allege Colin Gray allowed his son to have the assault-style rifle, it’s not clear how or when the boy came into possession of it. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is declining to release additional information because of the ongoing investigation. “The shooter is alive and is facing charges and we are working on preparing a strong case that needs to go through the judicial process,” the agency said on its website.
The rental home of Colt Gray, the 14-year-old suspect who has been charged as an adult with murder in the shootings Wednesday, Sept. 4., at Apalachee High School, is shown Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Georgia Bureau of Investigation staff move through an entrance to Apalachee High School after Wednesday's shooting, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Mark Gorman holds a candle during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
This combo of booking images provided by the Barrow County, Ga., Sheriff's Office shows Colin Gray, left, and his son Colt Gray, who have been charged in relation to the Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, shootings at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga. (Barrow County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Colt Gray, charged as an adult with four counts of murder, sits in the Barrow County courthouse during his first appearance for the Wednesday shooting at Apalachee High School, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, Pool)
Flowers are displayed at a memorial outside Apalachee High School, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Winder, Ga., following a shooting at the school earlier in the week. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Two students view a memorial as the flags fly half-staff after a shooting Wednesday at Apalachee High School, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
