By The Athletic NFL Staff
Feb 26, 2025
By Dianna Russini, Tashan Reed, Jourdan Rodrigue and Vic Tafur
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is attracting significant interest in the trade market.
The Rams gave Stafford’s agent permission to talk with other teams about the quarterback’s contract terms, a league source said. From those talks, the Las Vegas Raiders and the New York Giants have both emerged as teams looking to acquire the Super Bowl-winning quarterback, team sources said Wednesday.
Both the Giants and the Raiders are in the market for a quarterback.
Matthew Stafford’s exploration of his market value the last few weeks has indeed attracted significant interest from teams, notably the Raiders and the Giants, per sources.
Teams are anticipating the Rams will now be driving up the asking price if they decide to move him. pic.twitter.com/8PS7GqXaPM— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) February 26, 2025
The Raiders desperately need to find an upgrade at quarterback this offseason, so it’s far from a surprise that they’d inquire about the availability of Stafford.
Raiders GM John Spytek and coach Pete Carroll both declined to get into specifics when asked Tuesday about potentially trading for the quarterback.
“I don’t really want to talk about other teams’ players,” Spytek said, “but I would just say that if there’s an opportunity for any player that we think can add value to the Raiders, we’ll look into it.”
“We’re not talking about guys on other clubs,” Carroll said.
The Raiders would need to work out the trade compensation to their satisfaction, but the team has reached out to Stafford’s camp to express interest, according to league sources, and meeting Stafford’s contract needs would not be an issue. The Raiders want to win now while building up the roster, and addressing their biggest need with Stafford would be a great start for the new regime.
“There’s no timeline that we’re going to try to do something good somewhere down the road so we can feel okay about ourselves,” Carroll said. “We’re going for it.”
Las Vegas has three quarterbacks on their roster — Aidan O’Connell, Gardner Minshew and Carter Bradley — but none of them have proven themselves to be a viable starter.
The Raiders have the second-most cap space in the NFL and hold the No. 6 pick in the 2025 draft, so they have the resources to make additions to the room whether it’s in the form of a veteran, rookie or some combination of the two.
“The quarterback position is going to be highly contested,” Carroll said. “However this goes, our guys are all going to take a shot at it.”
Later Wednesday, team and league sources confirmed that Stafford and Raiders minority owner Tom Brady had an unplanned conversation when they were both at a ski resort in Montana. It is not known what was discussed.
The Giants, who met with Stafford’s representatives Tuesday in Indianapolis, per a league source, have only one quarterback set to be on the roster in 2025: Tommy DeVito. Giants GM Joe Schoen said Tuesday that New York will look to add a veteran quarterback this offseason regardless of whether it targets a passer in April’s draft.
“We’re going to have to address the position somewhere,” Schoen said. “And even if you get a young quarterback, you’d like to have a vet in the room with them to show them the ropes and how to be a pro. So we’re looking at all different avenues. It’s, ‘Hey, is this guy going to be really good for a young quarterback, or is this guy a starter?’ Can we get a guy in the draft, or if we do, should we have a guy who’s more of a guy that can develop and show a guy how to be a pro?”
Stafford, 37, is seeking a new deal, and allowing him to speak with other teams about his contract could provide more clarity on the quarterback’s market value.
Stafford is entering the final year of a four-year deal worth $160,000,000, per Spotrac. In 2025, Stafford is set to earn a base salary of $23,000,000 and a roster bonus of $4,000,000, while carrying a cap hit of $49,666,667 and a dead cap value of $49,333,336. Stafford’s base salary ranks 13th among NFL players, per Spotrac.
The Athletic previously reported Stafford and the Rams initially met before the Super Bowl to discuss his contract but talks did not progress.
What could the Rams look for in a Stafford trade?
The Rams giving Stafford’s agent Jimmy Sexton permission to discuss the quarterback’s contract with other teams serves as a fact-check. With the two sides being apart on Stafford’s worth, it will be interesting to see how other teams value the quarterback. Would another team be open to his asking price and capable of giving him a new contract if it moved to acquire him? This also serves as a natural framework for any potential trade, should that happen, with a head start before the March 10 “legal tampering” period opens.
A trade for Stafford could merit a range of compensation for the Rams, who I believe are looking for anything from a first-round pick to an early second-round pick and additional picks and/or capital. The biggest issue between the two sides, as they continue to negotiate, is the difference in their contract numbers, so an acquiring team would have to pay Stafford what he’s looking for. — Jourdan Rodrigue, Rams beat writer
