Matthew Stafford is set to return to the Los Angeles Rams for another year after the sides were able to agree to a restructured contract earlier this offseason.
While a deal ultimately got done, it appeared at one point that Stafford was likely to move on from the Rams. The veteran quarterback met with several teams to gauge his value, with some of them reaching the stage of putting together a trade package to acquire him.
However, the Rams stepped up and ensured that Stafford would return for his fifth season with the team.
The 37-year-old is glad to put his contract situation behind him and now wants to focus on the 2025 season, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“It’s great to have that done and kind of out of the way as we get this thing going,” Stafford said Monday. “Just obviously happy that I’m going to be coming back and doing it again here, which is great.”
Stafford admitted that he never wanted to leave the Rams and is happy to be back in L.A.:
“Never really wanted to leave,” Stafford said. “So just happy to be back, and happy that the Rams want me back and we can move forward and hopefully have a great season.”
Stafford returning to the Rams always made the most sense for both sides and it is great that they were able to get something done. The two-time Pro Bowler is still playing at a high level and gives the team their best chance at competing for a Super Bowl.
If Stafford was traded or released, the Rams would have been on the hook for significant dead money. They also would have been forced to find a replacement for Stafford, which is no longer a necessity this offseason.
The Rams could still select a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft, but head coach Sean McVay said that isn’t a likely scenario. “I think that’s unlikely. I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t done a whole lot of work on the quarterbacks,” McVay said at the recent league meetings.
“I feel really good about where our quarterback room is, even though we’re not naive to the fact that Matthew’s hopefully got a couple more years that he wants to play, but he’s also earned the right to say ‘After this year, I’m going to go ahead and hang them up.’
“But I’m hopeful that’s not the case, but I haven’t done enough work to really have an educated opinion on that. That’s not something I would see us going – but maybe not, huh?”
Matthew Stafford not worried about Rams potentially drafting quarterback
Matthew Stafford said he is not worried about the Rams potentially selecting his successor this week and would be willing to teach the rookie as much as he can.
