The Los Angeles Rams must sort through their future even if Matthew Stafford returns for the 2025 season. He has haggled over his contract for the second offseason. While Stafford is expected to return, the Rams still have top-10 odds to land Aaron Rodgers.
According to Fox Sports as of February 11, the Rams are technically long shots with +1000 odds on DraftKings of securing the four-time MVP and New York Jets QB’s services.
However, that is still the seventh-best among possible destinations.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have the best odds at +200, followed by the Las Vegas Raiders (+300), San Francisco 49ers (+350), Minnesota Vikings (+400), Tennessee Titans (+750), Indianapolis Colts (+850), the Rams, and New York Giants (+1200).
Rodgers’ future with the Jets remains in limbo, though the expectation is they will cut him. He is entering the final year of a three-year, $112.5 million contract. Meanwhile, Over The Cap projects the Rams to have $38.3 million in room to operate this offseason.
Rodgers has the most career earnings of any player in NFL history. He can be selective about his next stop.
Several dominos must fall before Rodgers and the Rams’ paths possibly align.
Jets QB Aaron Rodgers Expected to Have Options
GettyMatthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams talks with Aaron Rodgers #8 of the New York Jets.
The Monday Morning Quarterback’s Albert Breer noted that Rodgers’ return to the field in 2025 is not guaranteed. If the QB does, he should have options
“As for Rodgers, his options going forward are TBD,” Breer wrote on February 10. “If he comes back, the list of suitors will be short, because teams would have to check a bunch of boxes for interest on either end to develop. But if he doesn’t want to go out like this … I’d have to think someone (Pittsburgh? Cleveland?) would take a swing.”
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini explained how the Jets put Rodgers on notice.
The Rams could be the team that fits Rodgers best and vice versa. They could still draft a QB while potentially maintaining their chances of winning in 2025. Rodgers’ is not young like the rest of the Rams’ core beyond Stafford.
He could be cheaper than Stafford on a restructured deal.
Stafford has two more years on his four-year, $160 million contract. But his contract situation could make the time ripe for a pivot.
Rams’ Decision on Matthew Stafford Could Open Door for Aaron Rodgers
GettyMatthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams speaks with head coach Sean McVay before a game against the Arizona Cardinals.
During his season-ending press conference in January, Rams general manager Les Snead said Stafford “disturbed” their plans to retool in 2021 when they acquired him in a trade with the Detroit Lions.
Breer emphasized the significance of “timelines” in the Rams’ decision on Stafford. Breer subsequently wondered about Stafford’s trade availability.
“Sean McVay is in the final year of his 30s, and the franchise is heading into its 10th season back in Los Angeles. And in so many ways, the team itself has found its fountain of youth,” Breer wrote. “That gives the Rams the flexibility, with cap space and a full complement of draft picks, to again become the aggressor on the veteran market.
“But it also raises a bigger question with Stafford. Last year’s negotiation lasted months, and was difficult, and resulted in a $5 million raise for 2024, in exchange for the removal of all guarantees thereafter.”
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