“I Know California Is Great but…”: Matthew Stafford’s Wife Kelly Shares Scary Scenes After Mountain Lion Enters Her Neighborhood

Alex Murray | 05/12/2024
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) with his wife Kelly with their 4 daughters on the field prior to the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium. Stafford was at the game on Rams day.

Matthew Stafford may be the main breadwinner in his family, but his wife, Kelly Stafford, is the more social media-savvy of the two. She’s always been active online, especially since the couple moved to L.A. when Matthew was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 2021.

Kelly likes to keep her and her husband’s fans up to date on what the family is doing and how life, in general, is going. On Wednesday, she shared perhaps her most jarring Instagram story yet, as it appears there was a massive mountain lion sighting just “a couple houses down” from the Staffords’ L.A. home.

She wrote in the caption:

“Just the casual morning text ‘hey your neighbors a couple houses down had this mountain lion in their yard this morning.'”

No doubt the switch from Detroit—where Matthew played for the Lions for over a decade—to California has been jarring. The geographical change and the new people you meet are part of it. But it’s also because California brings its own share of dangers. It’s certainly a long way from the concrete jungle of Detroit, as Mrs. Stafford pointed out.

“I mean I know Cali is great but between earthquakes, wild fires, bobcats and now this monster… It’s also terrifying.”

Mountain lions rightly strike fear in many a California hiker (or suburb-dweller, in this case) every year. Males can grow to 8 feet long from nose to tail, and weigh around 140 pounds. They also have a huge bite force of over 400 pounds per square inch. That’s only slightly less than a lion or a tiger.

However, despite their imposing size and look, they very rarely interact with humans. People are 1,000 times more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a mountain lion in California. Since 1890, there have been just 50 mountain lion attacks in the state, only six of which were fatal. That’s about one attack every 2.5 years or so and one fatality every 22 years.

Kelly Stafford didn’t spend her whole day worrying about an unlikely mountain lion attack, though. She also took the Stafford clan out to pick their Christmas tree. Kelly allowed one of her young daughters, Tyler, to make the final choice.

Before the Staffords celebrate Christmas, however, the man of the house has a few more NFL games to complete. Matthew Stafford’s Rams are 6-6 and right in the mix for the NFC West crown. So, while Kelly is keeping an eye on the family and the neighborhood, Matthew will be at the Rams facility cramming for his next matchup, a tough Week 14 date with the Buffalo Bills.

Post Edited By: Samnur Reza
Los Angeles Rams Matthew Stafford NFL

About the author

Alex Murray

Alex Murray

Alex Murray has been active in the sport media industry since his graduation from the prestigious RTA School of Media at TMU (formerly Ryerson University) in downtown Toronto. He has had a specific focus and interest on all things football and NFL, which stems from his father, who imbued him with a love of football and the NFL over all other sports at a young age. Alex even played football up until his freshman year of college, when he realized that he would find more success writing about rather than playing the sport. Alex has written for a variety of sports media outlets, including theScore, FanSided, FantasyPros, GiveMeSport, and more.

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