NFL Trade Rumors
According to the Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue, the core difference between the Rams and QB Matthew Stafford at this point is Los Angeles’ hesitancy to make a significant financial commitment to a veteran quarterback whose long-term future or durability they can’t be sure about.
Rodrigue writes things between the two sides remain fluid despite both sides being open to working out a deal. She says there was an initial meeting before the Super Bowl but not much has happened since then, with things expected to pick up in the coming weeks before the start of the NFL league year in March.
It is not a given Stafford remains with the Rams, per Rodrigue. She points out the lack of overt commitment from HC Sean McVay and GM Les Snead at the end of the season signaled to other teams they were open to having trade talks.
“[I]t’ll take someone calling or us reaching out if we want to do that,” Snead said via Pro Football Talk. “Those are the things that’ll be determined down the road here.”
Even though both sides want to make something happen and the Rams don’t have a clear alternative to Stafford who would make them equally competitive in 2025, Rodrigue notes the Rams are cognizant of a wave of young core players who will be eligible for extensions in the next two years, which is why there’s a limit to how long and for how much Los Angeles is willing to commit to Stafford.
As far as what the Rams would do if they did move on from Stafford, Rodrigue mentions McVay really likes backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo, more than some people around the league expected him to in fact, but Garoppolo is also on an expiring contract. Stetson Bennett was drafted to be a long-term backup, per Rodrigue, and is not viewed as a starting option right now.
She also adds the Rams were interested in QB Aaron Rodgers in 2021 before trading for Stafford, but could be less interested now. Rodgers, Garoppolo and most of the other quarterbacks available would be bridge options to the Rams’ next solution at quarterback, per Rodrigue, and the draft class is viewed as thin at the position.
Overall, Rodrigue says the Rams will not spend big, either with money, draft picks or a trade, on a quarterback that they don’t see as a franchise option for both the present and future.
Stafford’s situation is one teams around the league are monitoring as the start of the new league year in March draws closer. There are varying reports about how likely it is the veteran actually becomes available.
Stafford, 37, is a former first-round pick of the Lions, who took him with the No. 1 overall pick out of Georgia in 2009. He was in the final year of a five-year, $76.5 million contract when he and the Lions agreed to a five-year, $135 million extension back in 2017.
Stafford was involved in a blockbuster trade that sent him...
