The Los Angeles Rams are set to continue with Matthew Stafford as their quarterback this season. While Stafford, now 37, is approaching the later stages of his career, the Rams currently lack an obvious successor on their roster. However, the Rams have strategically positioned themselves for the future by acquiring two first-round picks for 2026, including the Atlanta Falcons’ pick, giving them the draft capital to potentially trade up for a quarterback in that draft, should they choose to do so.
Rams head coach Sean McVay has expressed his hope that Stafford will remain with the team for at least the next couple of years. “We have a chance with him every time he’s at the switch, and love working with him,” McVay told Adam Schein on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio. “And I think he can play as long as he wants, but fortunately, I’m hoping it’s a couple more years.”
Sean McVay On Matthew Stafford’s Future With Los Angeles Rams
Stafford agreed to a revised contract this offseason to remain in Los Angeles, after initially being given permission to explore trade options. The Raiders and the Giants reportedly showed interest. McVay described the process of working through Stafford’s contract situation. “When you’re able to have real conversations with people you love and care about, you can go one of two ways. You can either get further apart, or you can get closer,” McVay said. “And there is no question in my mind that he and I are closer than ever. There’s a lot of appreciation; there’s a lot of gratitude that we were able to work through some of those things.”
McVay further emphasized the renewed commitment between Stafford and the organization. “To ultimately, I heard [General Manager] Les [Snead] say it, to renew the vows. And I think there is kind of a renewal of appreciation for the opportunity to continue to work together. It doesn’t go lost on me how fortunate I am to be able to work with somebody as special as he is, both mentally, physically, and more importantly, what he means with how he moves as a man, and how he positively affects and influences his teammates and people he’s around.”
Stafford’s performance has been crucial to the Rams’ competitiveness. Over the past two seasons, he has compiled a 19-12 record as a starter, completing 64.2 percent of his passes for 7,727 yards, with 44 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. McVay highlighted Stafford’s physical condition and his impact in key moments.
“I think he came out of this season feeling really good physically,” McVay said. “And one of the things that I think is a tremendous credit to him, you look at [those] playoff games that he’s played in with us, the four his first year where he goes 4-0, leads us to a Super Bowl, you go to the ’23 season, he did everything in his power to try to will us to a victory against an excellent Detroit football team in ’23. And then this past year, he balls against Minnesota, and he does his thing against Philadelphia.”
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