NFC Notes: Cooper Kupp, Geno Smith, Matthew Stafford, Rams, Seahawks

Rams

When appearing on The New Heights podcast with Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce, Rams QB Matthew Stafford said he’s looking forward to “at least another year” with Los Angeles and hopes to stay a bit longer. 

“I’m going to be here at least another year, and hopefully some after that,” Stafford said.

Stafford added there was an understanding in 2024 that they would address his contract situation once again this offseason. 

“We worked something out last year at the 11th hour to figure it out right before training camp with the understanding that we’re going to re-address this if I want to play again next year.”

• Rams backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo on re-signing with the team: “I kind of knew where I wanted to be. The Rams came with a strong offer. I love the people here, love the teammates. So really, I’m at the point of my career, those are the little things that make a difference to me.” (Gary Klein)
• Garoppolo on if he being a starter was ever discussed: “That was kind of more of my agent. I really wasn’t even involved at that point. There were some discussions, nothing crazy. I mean 9’s the guy, man. He steers the ship and does a hell of a job doing it.” (Klein)

“The way I see myself is I’m ascending, even if people on the outside say I’m descending,” Kupp told Sam Farmer of the LA Times. “But they aren’t in our rooms. They aren’t hearing our game plans. They don’t see our practices. All they see is what happens on Sunday, and sometimes they don’t even see that and all they see is a stat line and decide, ‘Oh, this is who he is.’ That’s not what defines a player. That’s not going to define who I am, certainly. I’m not going to allow that. But when you go through the things I’m watching — I go through every single rep, I feel every single rep I take. I diagnose every rep. I, with all the information, know that I’m moving in the right direction.”

“I said at the beginning of last year that if I didn’t believe I could play football at a very high level — at a level where I see myself doing the things I want to do — I don’t want to be playing football anymore,” Kupp added. “And I can still do it. I want to do it for four more years at least, and I plan to be playing at a high level. That’s just where I see myself. When I see myself on film, I’m progressing. Things are moving forward.”

Seahawks 

• Regarding the Raiders acquiring QB Geno Smith from the Seahawks, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated writes that Smith’s proposals to Seattle on a contract extension were around $40 million-plus annually, which was $10 million or so more than what the Seahawks were willing to offer. 
• With the divide in demands, Breer points out the Seahawks began looking for solutions, which led to the discussion of trading Smith and signing a younger quarterback around the same price figure they offered the veteran.