Even as the organization allowed Matthew Stafford to speak with other teams, to gauge his value outside of Los Angeles, head coach Sean McVay’s belief that Stafford would play for the Rams again in 2025 never waivered.
That said, since Stafford agreed to a reworked contract to return to the Rams for a fifth season? “Been sleeping better these last couple of days,” McVay said during a Zoom press conference Monday.
When the Rams and Stafford reworked his contract for 2024 last summer, only agreeing to a new structure on the eve of training camp in July, both sides understood that more work would need to be done for 2025. Stafford was due just $27 million, including a $4 million roster bonus, well below the market value for top quarterbacks.
And Stafford proved he could still play at a high level in 2024 even as injuries dogged the Rams offense. He completed 65.8% of his passes for 3,762 yards and 20 touchdowns while throwing eight interceptions, the lowest number in Stafford’s career in a season in which he played 16 games. And he led the Rams within a red-zone conversion of a comeback win over the Eagles in the NFC divisional round.
So once Stafford decided to play in 2025, he and his representation began to negotiate with the Rams on a reworked contract.
“There’s no way to put an actual value on what he means,” McVay said, “but what does it mean to be able to fit it for the landscape for our football team, where we’re at?”
Conversations included Stafford, his wife Kelly, his agent Jimmy Sexton, Rams president Kevin Demoff, general manager Les Snead and VP of football and business administration Tony Pastoors. As the process continued, the Rams granted Stafford permission to speak with other teams and gauge his market value, and what trade compensation would look like for the Rams.
Reportedly, the Raiders and New York Giants showed serious interest. As Stafford considered his options, McVay allowed him to make a decision without a hard sell. And ultimately on Friday morning, the two sides sat down and agreed to a deal.
“That was always the end goal in mind,” McVay said. “But I think you want to allow him to come to a decision with Kelly and his family that’s best for him, that he can get excited about. I think that’s the important thing is, you want everybody to feel really good about the partnership.”
Ultimately, the agreement is simply an adjustment to this year’s compensation. McVay anticipates that the Rams and Stafford will need to have this conversation again next season for the final season on his contract.
“As long as he wants to play, I know we’re feeling really good about that,” McVay said. “I think he can play for a few more years if that’s what he wanted.”
With Stafford in the fold, the Rams have been able to turn their focus to other business. Within hours of agreeing to terms with Stafford, the team re-signed left tackle Alaric Jackson to a three-year deal. McVay said on Monday that veteran tight end Tyler Higbee and right tackle Rob Havenstein are expected to be back with the team next season.
“Those guys are instrumental to our success,” McVay said. “I thought both of them played at a really high level.”
But in addition to bringing back those familiar faces, the Rams will have to reach a conclusion in the off-season saga involving a long-time face of the franchise.
Last month, receiver Cooper Kupp announced the team had informed him that they were seeking to trade him. With the former Super Bowl MVP poised to count $29.78 million against the salary cap in 2025 and having missed 16 games across the last three seasons due to injury, the Rams are poised to enter a season without Kupp for the first time in McVay’s tenure with the franchise.
“There hasn’t been a more difficult decision since I’ve been here,” McVay said. “You’re ultimately trying to put the puzzle together with a lot of thought and consideration. We just felt like that was the best direction for our football team. It doesn’t take away the love, respect and gratitude you have for what he’s done. But it just came down to what we think is best in terms of putting together the whole puzzle. There’s obviously a lot of layers to that.”
McVay said the Rams haven’t had conversations about a potential contract restructure with Kupp or his representatives. But the coach didn’t completely rule out the possibility of the receiver returning to the Rams if the team is unable to find a trade partner.
“I think I would never speak in absolutes,” McVay said. “But I do think let’s gather all the information. We’ll take it a day at a time and we’ll kind of see what the next steps entail.”