The storyline that has dominated the NFL Scouting Combine that has nothing to do with the combine is the future of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. The franchise recently granted the 37-year-old permission to speak to other interested teams, which means a trade could be on the horizon.
Stafford is technically under contract for two more years, but he’s due a pay raise. Since the Rams and Stafford’s camp have been unable to reach an agreement just yet, his representation is now polling other quarterback-needy teams what they would be willing to pay the former No. 1 overall pick. If another team is willing to pay Stafford the amount he desires, which could be $50 million per year, that team would then have to send the Rams acceptable trade compensation to complete the deal.
It feels like the Rams are in a precarious spot here. Trading for Stafford won the Rams a Super Bowl and brought them consistency under center. Losing him would be to enter quarterback purgatory, but how much are you willing to pay an aging QB?
Agent’s Take: Why Matthew Stafford has nobody to blame but himself regarding contract impasse with Rams
Joel Corry
Recently, Rams head coach Sean McVay appeared on the Fitz & Whit podcast, and broke down the complicated situation his team finds itself in.
“When you talk about the elephant in the room, these are the things that are really challenging,” McVay said, via NFL.com. “Because there’s no discrepancy on us wanting him to continue to lead the way and be our quarterback. The interesting and the challenging dilemma and dynamics within this are, hey, how do you continuously as a head coach look at the short term and the long term and be able to figure out what does that really look like?
“There is no dispute, and let’s not get it twisted in regards to anybody wanting him to be our quarterback. Now, there’s layers to it. You have to be able to say, hey, how do we continuously build? How do we support him? How do we make sure that he’s getting what is his worth relative to those things? So, at the end of the day, we had something in mind, he had something in mind, and nobody was right or wrong. And then ultimately you’re saying there’s a ton of interest because this guy is an incredible player.”
Stafford may have some gray in his beard, but he can still play. The former Detroit Lion threw 15 touchdowns compared to one interception in his final nine games of the season, including playoffs, while the Rams came just one play away from hosting an NFC Championship game.
The Athletic reports that Stafford has attracted significant interest from teams over the last week, including the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders. Will they be willing to pay Stafford more than the Rams and meet the Rams’ desired compensation? That’s a legitimate question, because McVay made it clear the goal is to have Stafford back under center in 2025.
“There does have to be an element of understanding, well, what does that future look like without this freakin’ G who’s been our quarterback for the last four years?” McVay said. “And there’s no wrong or right way to go about it, but I do think for us to be able to make the most educated decision in terms of the cash budget that we operate on, the draft comp that you would get in return, you just need to be able to have all the parameters to at least explore it. Don’t have to do anything in secret, want to make sure that we’re all abreast of the situation, even though the first goal in mind is to have you come back here as the quarterback.
“These decisions aren’t made in a vacuum and that’s kind of the challenging part of it, but love this guy, and he’s been incredible for us.”
Read the full article here
