The most fascinating domino of this year’s quarterback carousel has to be Matthew Stafford. The Los Angeles Rams recently granted the 37-year-old permission to speak to other interested teams about how much they would be willing to pay him, meaning his future is up in the air.
Any interested team would have to not only give Stafford a lucrative extension ($50 million per year has been thrown around by numerous reporters), but also send the Rams acceptable trade compensation since Stafford is still technically under contract. Or, what may be more likely, another team could set up the framework for the deal Stafford ends up signing with the franchise he won the Super Bowl with three years ago.
What if the Rams end up trading Stafford to a team like the New York Giants or Pittsburgh Steelers? Who would be Sean McVay’s quarterback? Do they enter the Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes, or make an aggressive play up the draft board for Shedeur Sanders? Or, could Stafford’s replacement be someone already on roster?
On Tuesday, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported on “Scoop City” that the Rams are comfortable — and feel good — with Jimmy Garoppolo. Jimmy G spent this past season as Stafford’s backup, and would need to be re-signed if Les Snead wanted to go that route.
The 34-year-old Garoppolo signed a one-year deal with the Rams last offseason, and started the regular-season finale against the Seattle Seahawks. In the 30-25 loss, he completed 27 of 41 passes for 334 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Garoppolo came over from the Las Vegas Raiders, where he was benched after just six starts despite signing a three-year deal in 2023.
McVay and the Rams are hoping they won’t have to enter quarterback purgatory this offseason, but they will have to find a middle ground with Stafford’s camp on what a new contract would look like.
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Author: Jordan Dajani
February 25, 2025 | 4:45 pm
