Pro Football Rumors
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has openly mulled retirement in each of the last two offseasons, but the 38-year-old is also considering a longer stay in the NFL – potentially into his 40s.
Stafford has consulted both Tom Brady and Drew Brees about extending his playing career, he said on Chris Long‘s Green Light podcast this week. Last year, Brees told Stafford that he “might have your best five years of your career coming up.”
The Saints legend was right, at least for a year. Stafford was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2025 after leading the league with 4,707 passing yards and 46 touchdowns. The latter number was a career-best, as was his 109.2 passer rating and a 3.71% sack rate, which is somewhat surprising for an older, less mobile quarterback known as a pocket passer.
“Drew saying that kind of lit a fire under me,” Stafford added. “It gives you a little bit of belief that maybe an old guy can go out there and spin it around a little bit.”
Still, Stafford is aware that his mind could change about retirement at any moment. He remains in a “year-to-year” phase of his career to avoid putting himself, his family, or the Rams in a difficult position.
“I know that I’m ready to play this year, and hopefully, I feel great at the end of next year, and I’m ready to play another one after that,” he continued. “And then maybe we just kind of keep going like that. But, committing to more than that feels a little bit daunting. And I think a little bit unfair to the team and myself.”
That approach has informed Stafford’s short-term contract approach in each of the last two years. He signed a two-year deal in 2025 and tacked on another season this offseason. The latest extension – which features a rather complicated structure even by NFL standards – is designed for him to retire (or be released) during the 2028 offseason, when he will be 40 years old.
The Rams can, of course, extend him before his contract voids, but will they? In the last few offseason, he has far and away been their best option to compete in the upcoming season. That is obviously their intention this year after swinging blockbuster trades for Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie.
But Los Angeles’ selection of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the No. 13 pick indicates they are considering a post-Stafford future, too. Provided the Rams’ veteran starter stays healthy, Simpson will enter 2028 with little starting experience. If the team truly sees him as their next long-term franchise quarterback, they will want to get him on the field at some point during his rookie contract to figure out his true potential. Waiting past 2028 would force them to make a decision on Simpson’s fifth-year option without seeing him play a significant number of snaps.
That could bring about one outcome that few have discussed: Stafford finishing his career somewhere other than...
