The Rams naturally want to get clarity on quarterback Matthew Stafford’s status sooner rather than later. Although it is not yet a sure thing, it sounds as if the soon-to-be 37-year-old passer is prepared to continue his playing career. His contract, however, continues to be a talking point.
While Stafford is under club control through 2026, last summer’s restructure – which frontloaded most of his guarantees into 2024 – essentially turned his deal into a year-to-year accord. With a $23MM base salary and only $4MM in guaranteed money due in 2025, Stafford’s current pact is a team-friendly one, and therefore one which could be attractive to other clubs in need of a short-term QB fix (even if such a club would need to make an upward adjustment to the contract).
Indeed, both Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic (subscription required) and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk believe that a Stafford trade is on the table. Given that the Rams just advanced to the second round of the playoffs, have a bevy of talented young players, and do not have an immediate Stafford successor in place, such a move would be surprising. That is especially true since Stafford is unlikely to fetch the high-end draft capital that the Rams dealt to the Lions to acquire him several years ago, and since Los Angeles’ first pick in the upcoming draft is the No. 26 overall selection.
Still, GM Les Snead did not shoot down the notion and merely suggested that he would not actively seek a trade.
“[I]t’ll take someone calling or us reaching out if we want to [make a trade],” Snead said (via Florio). “Those are the things that’ll be determined down the road here.”
Of course, hammering out a new or reworked contract with Stafford is also a real possibility. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2009 draft may not be at the height of his powers, but he is still a capable player, and a team like the Rams that has designs on another postseason run in 2025 will be hard-pressed to find an obvious plug-and-play upgrade. Indeed, head coach Sean McVay said last year that he is happy to have Stafford as his QB1 for as long as Stafford wants to play.
Wide receiver Cooper Kupp, another key piece of the club’s recent Super Bowl-winning outfit, is facing an even more uncertain LA future. The 2021 Triple Crown winner has struggled to stay healthy since that historic campaign, playing in 33 of a possible 51 regular season games over the past three years. His production has slipped…