Rams Expected To Pick Up Option On QB Matthew Stafford

Adam Schefter reports that the Rams are expected to pick up QB Matthew Stafford‘s option bonus for 2023 and 2024 salary by the third day of the league year, which will see Stafford earn $62 million.

It was unknown if Stafford would return to Los Angeles next season, but it now seems likely with HC Sean McVay also committing to returning for 2023. Stafford has previously said that he did not plan to retire regardless of what happened with the Rams.

Stafford, 34, is a former first-round pick of the Lions back in 2009. He was in the final year of his 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 includes $135 million guaranteed back in March and is set to earn a base salary of $1,500,000 to go along with a $12 million signing bonus in 2022. 

He’s due base salaries of $1.5 million and $31 million over the next two seasons. 

In 2022, Stafford appeared in nine games and completed 68 percent of his passes for 2,087 yards, 10 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He also rushed for nine yards and another touchdown.