Rams Want Matthew Stafford Back For 2026, Decision Timeline Uncertain

The Rams made their first offseason moves on Monday, signing HC Sean McVay and GM Les Snead to long-term extensions.

The next biggest question mark heading into the offseason for Los Angeles pertains to the quarterback position, considering last offseason’s saga where there were trade and retirement rumors surrounding QB Matthew Stafford.

Per Sarah Barshop, McVay said they plan to give Stafford time to make his decision, but they want him back for 2026 and hopes he returns for another year. 

“If that’s something that he wants to do, the answer is absolutely yes,” McVay said, via Jeremy Bergman. “Our hope is that he does, but with respect to his timetable … we’ll let him be able to do that.”

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. 

The Rams and Stafford later reworked that deal going into the 2024 season, moving money up from the back of the contract. Stafford was due $27 million and $31 million in the final two years of his deal when the two sides reworked his existing contract again in 2025. 

In 2025, Stafford appeared in all 17 games for the Rams and threw for 4,707 yards while completing 65.0 percent of his passes for 46 touchdowns and eight interceptions.