Kelly Stafford has been married to her husband, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, since 2015 — or so she believes.
Barstool Sports published a story on Wednesday, August 20, with the headline “The Best NFL Conspiracy Theory On The Internet – Matthew Stafford Died A Couple Weeks Ago, Got Cloned, New One Is Now QB1 for the Rams” and Kelly, 36, is taking the outlandish rumor in stride.
“I knew there was something different about him….that @ammortal_official is wild,” she wrote via her Instagram Story on Thursday, August 21, over a screenshot of the article.
Kelly tagged Ammortal, the company behind the recovery chamber that Matthew, 37, uses, meant to “reset, recharge, and rejuvenate the body, mind and spirit,” according to its website.
An Ammortal chamber showing up at Rams camp, combined with the team giving a vague update on Matthew when he missed practice in early August with a back injury was all the online conspiracy crew needed to run wild and get #StaffordDiedWeeksAgo trending on social media.
Matthew has since returned to practice — hence the clone theory — as the quarterback prepares for his 17th season in the NFL.
“The LA Rams shared a deepfake video showing deceased quarterback Matthew Stafford practicing with the team,” one fan joked in a quote post above a video of Matthew at practice. “Disrespectful to his memory and to his family.”
“They expect me to believe this is the same person?? WAKE UP PEOPLE #StaffordDiedWeeksAgo,” another wrote alongside a pair of images of Matthew, one showing him early in his career and another much more recent. A red circle and arrow over each appeared to show differences in Matthew’s teeth.
The fan, clearly joking, doubled down in the comments, calling anyone who suggested the quarterback had a dental procedure “sheep.”
Matthew has not appeared in either of the Rams’ first two preseason games, with Stetson Bennett starting at quarterback instead.
Los Angeles opens the regular season on Sunday, September 7, at home against the Houston Texans. The Rams have not yet determined if Matthew will play, but coach Sean McVay gave a promising update on Monday, August 18.
“It was good to be able to have Matthew out there. He did a good job today. I thought he looked good. I don’t really have any updates,”he told the media. “We’re going to keep it a day and really a week at a time, but it was great to be able to see him out there today. We’ll see how this afternoon goes and tomorrow.”
