Matthew Stafford is not paying attention to the noise. Speculation about Stafford’s future with the Los Angeles Rams reached New Orleans ahead of the Super Bowl. Stafford knows he will play in 2025, but where he will do so remains unclear.
Stafford said change happens in the NFL “every single offseason.”
”The biggest thing is taking care of the things that I can take care of,” Stafford told The Sports Daily’s DJ Saddiqi in an interview published on February 5. “Controlling those things and not worrying too much about the other stuff, obviously. Like every team in the NFL, there’s going to be turnover. There’s going to be new teammates, new players, new coaches on the coaching staff. And different scenarios can arise at any given moment in the NFL.
“I just try to prepare myself to be the best version of myself and let the chips fall where they may.”
Matthew Stafford could have just played his last game with the Rams. He says he still has some football in him as he talks about the team’s comeback falling short in their 28-22 loss to the Eagles pic.twitter.com/faqWuEw9oc
— Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) January 19, 2025
Matthew Stafford could have just played his last game with the Rams. He says he still has some football in him as he talks about the team’s comeback falling short in their 28-22 loss to the Eagles
Stafford is under contract for two more seasons on a four-year, $160 million deal. However, there is no guaranteed money on the deal after a drawn-out process to renegotiate it in 2024.
Rams general manager Les Snead has also fueled trade speculation around Stafford.
Matthew Stafford Trade Possibility Reaches Super Bowl After Rams GM’s Comments
GettyMatthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams looks on after facing the Minnesota Vikings.
The Monday Morning Quarterback’s Albert Breer questioned the lack of buzz about Stafford’s potential availability this offseason.
“I don’t understand why nobody’s talking about the idea that Stafford could be available and that if you’re another team, you’re probably calling the Rams. That contract negotiation last year was tough,” Breer said on the “Dan Patrick Show” on February 4.
“He’s making less money than he was on the books to make this year because they borrowed from that to give him the money this past year. And they had had an agreement when they did the reworked deal [that], ‘We’re going to revisit it at the end of the year.’ Well, now we’re at the point where they’re going to revisit it. So what if Matthew Stafford wants a market correction and says – what is it seven or eight guys are making over $50 million? – ‘I want 50 million.’ There’s just a lot of stuff there where if I’m another team, I’m making that call.”
Snead stirred the pot on Stafford’s future, leaving the door open for a trade.
“On trades …, that’s one thing too,” Snead told reporters on January 24. “It’ll take someone calling or us reaching out if we want to do [that]. That’s the things that’ll be determined down the road here.”
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, Stafford’s former teammate on the Detroit Lions, made a similar point.
“I think the first call I would make would be to Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams to figure out what Stafford’s plans are,” Orlovsky said on “NFL Live” in January. “Is he going to play? Is he going to retire? Do they want him back? Honestly, if I were the Giants, if I were the Steelers – if I were a lot of teams – that would be my No. 1 call. Raiders, try to see kind of what the plan is for Matthew Stafford.”
Cooper Kupp & Matthew Stafford Could Be ‘Package Deal’
GettyCooper Kupp #10 and Matthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams talk during the NFL playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings.
“I know the guys in the locker room will miss him,” Stafford told Siddiqi about Kupp. “I know our fan base will miss him. He’s meant so much to really everybody in this community, all the guys on our team. I can’t say enough good things about Cooper Kupp and the person that he is, the family that he has, both on and off the field. He’s been a real treat to be around.”
Kupp announced in a post on social media that the Rams informed him they would seek a trade for him.
I was informed that the team will be seeking a trade immediately and will be working with me and my family to find the right place to continue competing for championships. I don’t agree with the decision and always believed it was going to begin and end in LA.
Still, if there’s…
Stafford said that he and Kupp are veteran enough players that the Rams’ decision to seek a trade for the receiver and leave the door open for the QB’s exit did not surprise them. Stafford also said he was able to speak with his former top target shortly after Kupp’s announcement.
Patrick speculated that an interested team, such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, could trade for both.
“If I’m one of those teams that, if I feel like I’m a quarterback away, and I look at the market and I see Sam Darnold, Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, I – Stafford’s the guy who could put you over the top. We saw it four years ago when he was available, and he put the Rams over the top,” Breer said.
“The Rams would probably do that. … I’m not saying they do Stafford now. But if they had gotten to the point where [they say], ‘We’re trading Stafford,’ I think that you could do some sort of package deal there.”
