Rams head coach Sean McVay on Thursday said rookie defensive end Braden Fiske's knee injury sustained in last Sunday's Divisional Round loss to the Eagles will require a "minor procedure," but it won't affect Fiske's availability for the beginning of the 2025 season.

"It'll be a little minor procedure that he'll have, but he'll be ready to go, and it won't affect his ability to be ready for next year," McVay said in an end-of-season video conference with reporters Thursday morning. "Excited about his future."

Fiske, along with outside linebacker Jared Verse, was among the five finalists announced for the Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. He led the Rams with 8.5 sacks in the regular season while playing in all 17 games (eight starts). He also had 44 total tackles (10 for loss), 10 QB hits, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Fiske was also named to the Pro Football Writers of America's All-Rookie Team as a defensive lineman earlier this week, joining Verse and Jordan Whittington, who made the team as a kick returner.

As for the news that came out about quarterback Matthew Stafford's ribs – Stafford's wife Kelly said on her podcast that "he cracked four ribs" in Week 15 against the 49ers – McVay said that Stafford "had banged up his ribs," but that they did imaging on his ribs and "nothing showed up on that imaging." Then, when Stafford got an MRI scan before their Wild Card playoff game against the Vikings, the scan "showed some stress reactions."

Stafford aggravated the injury in the playoff game against Eagles. Postgame, he said he had been managing it "to a varying degree for some time," but "was able to kind of calm it down" and "didn't feel like it was much of a factor" against Philadelphia.

"It continued to kind of just irritate him, but it didn't affect his ability to practice, anything play-related," McVay said. "But he did have some irritation, and then before the Minnesota game, when he did get an MRI scan, there showed some stress reactions. That was communicated to me, but it didn't limit his ability to practice. He's as tough as it gets. It's like anything else. As the season goes on, players accumulate things that they work through when you play as many games as they do."