Matthew Stafford will be the Rams’ quarterback for a little longer.
After being told he and his agent could talk to other teams to assess his value, the veteran signal-caller has agreed to a restructured deal with guaranteed money Friday to remain with the Rams.
The Rams announced their new agreement with Stafford on Friday without initially revealing any details.
Stafford, who turned 37 earlier this month and was still under contract for two more seasons, had restructured his deal last season to assist the team in getting under the salary cap.
After Stafford got the Rams within one play of upsetting the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs last month, the Rams agreed to allow Stafford to test the market and evaluate his worth at this point in his career.
Stafford was due a base salary of $23 million in 2025, and a $4 million roster bonus was due by March 14, but Stafford’s contract was not guaranteed for 2026.
The New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders were reportedly two of Stafford’s top suitors, with eyebrows raised over rumors of Stafford and Raiders minority owner Tom Brady coincidentally meeting up at a ski resort on Montana.
While Stafford likely could have made more money elsewhere – provided his desired new team and the Rams could agree on a trade – it’s doubtful he would have found the success he’s encountered in Los Angeles.
On March 18, 2021, the Rams acquired Stafford, who spent the first 12 seasons of his career never having won a playoff game with the Detroit Lions, for quarterback Jared Goff, two first-round picks and a third-round pick.
Head coach Sean McVay and Stafford became a perfect fit, winning Super Bowl LVI in his first season in Los Angeles.
In four seasons with the Rams, Stafford has compiled a 34-23 record, throwing for 14,700 yards and 95 touchdowns with 44 interceptions. In seven postseason games, Stafford went 5-2, averaging 298.3 passing yards per game with 15 touchdowns.
Last season, Stafford completed 65.8% (340 of 517) of his passes for 3,762 yards with 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He led the Rams to a 10-6 record and an NFC West title before they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 27-9 in an NFC wild-card game Jan. 13 in Arizona.
One week later, the Rams traveled to snowy Philadelphia and had the ball on the Eagles’ 21-yard line in the final minutes before coming up short in advancing to the NFC Championship Game.
Had the Rams parted ways with Stafford, they would have been left with backups Jimmy Garoppolo and Stetson Bennett IV and might have had to look toward free agency or the NFL draft.
McVay recently emphasized on the “Fitz & Whit” podcast that the Rams’ goal was to retain Stafford while managing the franchise’s short- and long-term goals.
“There is no dispute – and let’s not get it twisted in regarding to anybody wanting him to be our quarterback,” McVay said. “Now, there’s layers to it. You have to be able to say, ‘Hey, how do we continuously build? How do we support him? How do we make sure that he’s getting what is his worth relative to those things?’”