After much trade speculation and even talks of retirement, it's now official that Stafford will be staying in LA. The Los Angeles Rams and Stafford have agreed on to restructure his contract that will allow the quarterback to lead the team for the 2025 season.
According to NFL.com, the deal is going to be specified and finalized in the next coming weeks, likely around the start of free agency on March 12. The Rams had given Stafford permission to seek a trade.
NFL expert and journalist, Ian Rapoport, reported that Stafford had talks with the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants.
However, after the talks Stafford made the decision to take less money in order to stay in LA on a restructured deal than to be paid big money to play elsewhere.
Stafford is now entering his fifth season for the Rams, only five years removed from the Jared Goff-Matthew Stafford trade.
It’s safe to say that the trade worked out for both teams, but people lean towards the Rams because they were to make and win the Super Bowl in 2021 with Stafford.
Since then, the Rams have made two more playoff appearances with Stafford as their signal caller, they were a wild card entry in 2023 and won the NFC west in 2024.
The team was eliminated by Goff and the Lions in the wild card round during the 2023 playoffs. However, Stafford and the Rams defeated the Minnesota Vikings during the 2024 wild card and advanced to the divisional round for the first time since 2021.
Unfortunately, the Rams dream 2024 season came to a grinding halt when they ran into Saquon Barkley and the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Following the loss, there were rumors regarding Stafford’s retirement.
Following the retirement rumors, the Rams granted Stafford permission to seek a trade. Then soon after, Stafford and the Rams agreed to terms that will keep Stafford in LA, promptly ending the trade and retirement rumors.
Stafford was the best quarterback available in the offseason, but now that the Rams have secured their quarterback QB-needy teams will be looking at other options.
Teams like the Raiders, Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and even the Tennessee Titans were looking to upgrade the quarterback position. The Titans have the first-overall pick, but they have their eyes set on Penn State’s Abdul Carter.
This means that the team will either stick with Levis for another year and maybe dive into free agency. Some big name quarterbacks that are still available are Sam Darnold, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.
Some people speculate that Wilson will be reuniting with his former Seattle head coach, Pete Carroll, in Las Vegas. While it would make sense for the script, it might be unlikely for the Raiders to sign an aging QB whose play is severely declining.
If these QB-needy teams are desperate for a quarterback, they likely won’t find it in free agency. Their best bet is the draft, but with the two top quarterbacks being Cam Ward and Sheduer Sanders, it’s unlikely that a franchise QB will be selected in the upcoming draft.
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