Are the Rams a quiet Sam Darnold team this offseason?

Earlier this week, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp announced that the team informed him that they would be looking to trade him this offseason. Of course, that now has many speculating or wondering whether or not the team will rip off the band-aid and move into the next era of Rams football by also trading quarterback Matthew Stafford.

It seems ridiculous on its face. The Rams were 14 yards away from the NFC Championship game. Had they beaten the Philadelphia Eagles, they would have been favored at home against the Washington Commanders. That’s not to say that they would have won, but they most certainly would have been favored to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. As long as Stafford is the quarterback of the Rams, they will have a chance to compete. MMQB’s Albert Breer went on the Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday and said,

“Nobody is talking about the Matthew Stafford thing, I don’t understand it. I don’t understand that nobody is talking about the idea that Stafford could be available and that if you’re another team you’re probably calling the Rams. That contract negotiation last year was tough…Now we’re into a part of his contract where there’s no guaranteed money left. He’s making less money than he was on the books to make this year because they borrowed from that to give him the money this past year. They had an agreement when they did the re-worked deal, we’re going to re-visit it at the end of the year. Well, now we’re at the point where they’re going to re-visit it. So, what if Matthew Stafford wants a market correction and says, ‘7-8 guys are making over $50-million, I want $50-million.’ There’s just a lot of stuff there where if I’m another team, I’m making that call. I think the coaches would love to have him back in Los Angeles. There’s just a lot there that they’ve got to work through over the next few weeks.”

Prior to the 2023 season, Rams general manager Les Snead mentioned building around three pillars or “weight-bearing walls.” Those pillars were Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, and Cooper Kupp. We’re now two years down the road from that and Donald has retired and the team just informed Kupp that they are going to trade him. Two-thirds of those weight-bearing walls from that era of Rams football are gone. It’s clear that the front office is starting to look ahead a little bit and replace those walls with newer pieces such as Puka Nacua and Jared Verse.

This is not to say that the Rams should trade Matthew Stafford. As long as Stafford is the Rams quarterback, the team will have a chance. That’s been proven much over the last two years as the quarterback has played at a top-10 and sometimes a top-5 level down the stretch as the Rams have recovered from starts of 3-6 and 1-4.

It’s not even an apples-to-apples comparison when it comes to Stafford and Kupp. Stafford is still playing at a top-10 level and when he is on, he has shown that he is among the best quarterbacks in the NFL. That wasn’t the case with Kupp anymore. It became very clear over the second half of the season with Kupp that the injuries had begun to take their toll. He couldn’t cut and create separation like he could even two years ago. There’s a reason most of his big plays late in the season came on a vertical plane.

Still, this is something that the front office and NFL front offices will consider. Heading into Tom Brady’s age 37 season, the New England Patriots drafted Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round. Historically speaking, NFL quarterbacks don’t last much longer than 35 or 36 years of age. It’s hard to use Brady as an example, because up to this point, he’s been a unicorn. The expectation shouldn’t be and it can’t be that Stafford will play until he’s 45. Stafford will be heading into his age 37 season in 2025.

That age 37 season was Matt Ryan’s last year in the NFL and Phillip Rivers had his last really good season at 37. Following that timeline feels a lot more realistic. If the Rams got two more years out of Stafford, that would be a win, especially considering the injuries that he’s suffered throughout his career.

Again, the Stafford and Kupp situations are completely different. However, the Rams front office has shown, as they did with Kupp, that they still recognize the business side of the NFL. Despite Kupp’s importance to the franchise, there is a reason why the Rams wouldn’t pay him close to $30-million this season. They’ll have to have that same conversation regarding Stafford and whether or not it’s worth paying a 37-year old quarterback $53-million. That would put him in line with Tua Tagovailoa and Jared Goff. It would also make Stafford the oldest highest paid quarterback with Kirk Cousins at $45-million who is also 37.

It’s also worth considering the future quarterback landscape. The free agent quarterback landscape this season includes Sam Darnold. Darnold is someone who just had a lot of success with the Minnesota Vikings playing in a very similar offense as the Rams run under Sean McVay. The year before he was with the San Francisco 49ers and Kyle Shanahan.

Selecting at the 26th overall pick, the Rams won’t be in position to draft a quarterback this year. This also isn’t necessarily a quarterback class worth investing in. Next year’s free agent quarterback class includes Kenny Pickett and Sam Howell. Both of those players don’t give off much inspiration as well.

At 27-years old, Darnold makes sense as that bridge quarterback that can connect the gap between the old Rams core of Stafford, Donald, and Kupp to the younger core of players. Robert Mayes and Derrick Klassen discussed this exact scenario recently on The Athletic Football Show. Said Mayes,

“Can you trade Stafford for a one and then just sign Sam Darnold for the Stafford money? And is that actually a better place to be if you are the Los Angeles Rams for the next five years? Because you get the draft capital in addition to a much younger quarterback on what is probably going to be a similar deal…You’ve got to find an off ramp to a younger quarterback solution at some point. Stafford is 37. Cooper Kupp is 32. So, you’ve got some aging, expensive pieces. This is an aging core. Can they take one more run at it? Maybe that’s not the way to think about it. Maybe the way to think about it is, is this the offseason where we actually kind of pivot to the younger core that we have and maybe change the timeline a little bit. I understand the arguments on both sides.”

Klassen added,

“It’s really not crazy. I think for 2025 you’re a worse team, but for 2027 the health of your team and roster might be better. I just don’t know if they’re looking at it that way or not.”

There is a huge negative association when it comes to Darnold as a quarterback. However, the last two weeks of the season heavily inflate the overall season as a whole. Darnold threw for 35 touchdowns last year while helping lead the Vikings to 14 wins. His adjusted EPA per play in the second half of the year ranked 10th which was right behind Stafford while his overall success rate ranked seventh.

It’s hard to argue Darnold as being a top quarterback or having the same upside as Stafford at his best. There are questions about what Darnold can do on the big stage and his overall pocket awareness and movement. At the same time, Kevin O’Connell didn’t necessarily provide him easy answers in the Wild Card game and the Vikings offensive line did allow the third-highest pressure rate this season and ranked eighth in adjusted sack rate.

Ben Baldwin

To reiterate, this is not to say that the Rams should trade Matthew Stafford. It’s not even to say that the Rams should go with Darnold over Stafford next season. However, it is a potential scenario. The Rams moving on from Stafford isn’t as low of a percentage as some would like to believe. It’s still unlikely, but not out of realm of possibility.

If the Rams could sign Darnold for something between the Baker Mayfield number of $33.5-million and the current Stafford contract of $40-million, they’d be saving upwards of over $10-million with Darnold. Let’s say the Rams spend $35-million on Darnold. They could then invest and create an ecosystem for rookie quarterback to succeed while also putting more complementary pieces around Darnold. The upside may not be as high in the short-term, but that doesn’t mean they still couldn’t win 10 games with Darnold. If the Rams want to adjust their timeline and still want to remain competitive, it is an option.

The hypothetical scenario here would make Darnold the quarterback in 2025, give the Rams more draft capital and money saved in a Stafford trade, and then give them the ability to draft a quarterback such as LaNorris Sellers from South Carolina in 2026. Darnold remains the quarterback in 2026 for the first 6-8 games which was the Vikings’ plan with JJ McCarthy this year before handing a rookie the reins.

Again, this is all about where the Rams see their current timeline and if they want to take the leap. Do they go all-in and try to wring out every last drop or do they jump head first into the next era? It is a scenario on the table.

This isn’t about Darnold making the Rams better than Stafford does or being a better option at quarterback. It still feels like McVay and Stafford should be connected at the hip considering their personal relationship. If McVay had his choice, he may decide to ride Stafford until his right arm falls off.

What it simply comes down to is where the Rams front office sees the roster and how they want to move forward. With no Donald and Kupp, how the Rams saw themselves in 2025 two years ago has shifted drastically.

While it still might be a longshot, if the Rams were to decide that moving on from Stafford and adjusting their timeline was the way to go, Darnold would very likely be someone that they see as a bridge between the two eras and a short-term Stafford replacement.