After Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks in the NFC Championship, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford didn’t have much to say about the future. On Monday’s new episode of the Let’s Go! podcast, Stafford didn’t have much more to say about what comes next for his football career.
“It’ll be a lot that goes into it,” Stafford told Jim Gray. “It’s a physical, a mental and emotional decision, a personal and a family decision as well. So, we’ll figure all that kind of stuff out with some time.
“I know I had a ton of fun playing football this season and had so much fun playing for the Rams. So when I’m ready to figure that out, I’ll be ready to figure that out. That moment isn’t right now. I have so much more time, I feel like, to reflect on just the people and the season that we just had. I want to appreciate that and give it the time that it deserves before I start thinking personally about what’s next for me and my family.”
He has time, but not an indefinite amount. The Rams will need to know what he’s doing before the start of free agency at the very latest. And free agency starts in just six weeks.
Last year, contract talks between Stafford and the Rams bogged down to the point where the Rams gave Stafford permission to seek a trade. The Raiders and Giants were very interested. Stafford eventually stayed put with a relatively modest (in the grand scheme of things) bump for 2025.
This year, Stafford will be entitled to something much more than a bump over the $40 million he’s due to make in 2026, given that he might be nine days away from hoisting an MVP trophy. He arguably had the best season of his entire career.
To get what Stafford fully deserves this time around, maybe he needs to not use the possibility of playing for another team as his leverage. In 2025, the Rams called his bluff. His better play in 2026 may be to say to the Rams, “I think I may be done playing.”
Really, what’s their alternative? Jimmy Garoppolo? Last year, Aaron Rodgers was Plan B. This year, with Rodgers a year older (as we all are), it could be a little more dicey for the Rams to address the most important position on the team, if Stafford decides that 17 years and $408 million is more than enough.
