The Los Angeles Rams’ season came to a close on Sunday with a divisional-round loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. On top of that, it’s fair to wonder if we’ve seen the last of quarterback Matthew Stafford. After all, the 36-year-old has mulled retirement in the past and just closed the book on his 16th season in the NFL.
When asked about his playing future going forward following Sunday’s playoff loss, Stafford glanced at his watch and noted that the game had ended not too long ago, but would “take some time to think about it.”
“As far as my future goes, it’s 30 minutes after the last game, so I’ll take some time to think about it, but I feel like I was playing some pretty good ball,” Stafford told reporters in the locker room postgame.
When asked if he still has good football left in him, Stafford said, “Sure feels like it.”
Rams head coach Sean McVay was also asked about Stafford possibly playing his last game, but he told reporters that he’s “not really interested in talking about anything as it relates to next year.”
Stafford has spent the last four seasons with the Rams after the team acquired him in a blockbuster trade in the spring of 2021 where L.A. sent quarterback Jared Goff and an array of draft picks (including two first-rounders) to the Detroit Lions. That move proved to work out wonderfully for the Rams, who went on to win Super Bowl LVI in Stafford’s first season with the franchise.
Contractually, Stafford is signed with the Rams through the 2026 season. However, as CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones points out, the quarterback’s contract has been set up on a year-to-year basis for 2025 and beyond. He has a $4 million roster bonus due in mid-March, and while that figure may not be large enough to create a hard deadline, Los Angeles would likely want some clarity from its starting quarterback’s plans before then.
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