Latest On Matthew Stafford’s Future With Rams

In an interview on a podcast with Pat Leonard, Adam Schefter says the Rams and QB Matthew Stafford are committed to trying to work out a new deal. 

Schefter says keeping Stafford is the “first priority” for the Rams and they think they have a good shot to get it done. Schefter adds Stafford wants to be back in Los Angeles. 

Ultimately, Schefter notes the two sides still have to come to terms on a number both are happy with, and that the upcoming NFL Combine could serve as a bit of a soft deadline so both sides can plan for 2025. 

Stafford’s situation is one teams around the league are monitoring as the start of the new league year in March draws closer. There are varying reports about how likely it is the veteran actually becomes available. Last week, Dan Graziano of ESPN reported Stafford is expected to return to the Rams next season. 

Yet others, like Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer and NFL Media’s Gregg Rosenthal, seem more skeptical. Breer expects Stafford’s return will hinge on how much the quarterback wants in his next deal and whether he can commit to playing past 2025. Rosenthal went so far as to tweet Stafford is “way more likely than not to be gone.” Rosenthal isn’t a news reporter but he does content for NFL Media in Los Angeles, including a regular show with the Athletic’s Rams beat reporter Jourdan Rodrigue, so he’s plugged in to at least some degree. 

Rams GM Les Snead was asked at the end of the season if the Rams would consider trading Stafford and he didn’t say no. 

“[I]t’ll take someone calling or us reaching out if we want to do that,” Snead said via Pro Football Talk. “Those are the things that’ll be determined down the road here.”

Stafford, 37, is a former first-round pick of the Lions, who took him with the No. 1 overall pick out of Georgia in 2009. He was in the final year of a five-year, $76.5 million contract when he and the Lions agreed to a five-year, $135 million extension back in 2017.

Stafford was involved in a blockbuster trade that sent him to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for QB Jared Goff and draft picks in 2021. He signed a four-year extension worth $160 million that included $135 million guaranteed a year later. 

He’s due a base salary of $31 million in 2024, all of which is guaranteed. Stafford is due $32 and $31 million in the final two years of his deal. 

In 2024, Stafford appeared in 16 games for the Rams and threw for 3,762 yards while completing 65.8 percent of his passes for 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

We’ll have more on Stafford and the Rams as the news is available.