Could Matthew Stafford be the answer to the New York Giants’ quarterback prayers?

It is nice to talk about, but could it become reality?

With speculation floating around that Matthew Stafford’s future with the Los Angeles Rams is uncertain, some have latched on to the idea that the New York could solve their quarterback problem with a trade for the 16-year veteran.

Let’s discuss the idea.

Could the Rams really be considering parting ways with the 37-year-old? Would Stafford, near the end of his career, want to play for a team that has gone 9-25 over the past two seasons and has a head coach on a win or else hot seat? What would it cost, both in terms of money and trade capital? Would it be a good idea for the quarterback-needy Giants?

Would the Rams trade Stafford?

We know that the Rams are “highly motivated” to trade veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp. We know Stafford’s wife is not happy about that.

We know that Stafford has a contract for the next two years with a total of $49 million in base salary over that time, but that it is little more than a placeholder. The only guaranteed money in it is a $4 million bonus due March 19 if Stafford is still on the Rams’ roster. NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported last year that “the quarterback and the Rams are likely to play out this season and then reassess.”

The Rams and Stafford are now at the reassessment stage. What will happen? Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer isn’t sure. He recently wrote this:

Stafford put together another Stafford year, through which he helped the team navigate through offensive line issues, receiver injuries and a 1–4 start. The Rams finished 10–7 and NFC West champions. Los Angeles thumped the 13-win Vikings in the wild-card round and went to the wire with the Eagles in a Philly snowstorm in the divisional round, coming back from a two-touchdown deficit with less than five minutes left, largely on the back of Stafford.

So now, Stafford, who turns 37 this week, goes to the table holding the cards. Is the strain of last year’s negotiation still there? Is he going to look for another contract adjustment or, with just two years left on his deal, a brand-new extension?

I know how his coaches feel about him and the job he’s done, and clearly, the goal is to work this all out. But these are fair questions.

Breer added that the Giants are at the top of the list of teams that will “certainly will pay attention to how this plays out.”

Would Stafford to the Giants be a good idea?

It is certainly an idea. A really, really big idea.

The entire NFL world knows that the Giants need to solve their quarterback problem. If they don’t, coach Brian Daboll probably loses his job. GM Joe Schoen might, too.

We know that the Giants plan likely includes, in some form, a veteran mentor/bridge/placeholder and a draft pick, either a highly-drafted player hoped to be the future of the franchise or a development player drafted later as a possible answer.

Stafford is nobody’s bridge. If you take a swing for Stafford at this point, he is likely going to be your quarterback until his body breaks down and he can’t do it anymore.

But, hey, if 36-year-olds Kirk Cousins and Russell Wilson are on your list of possibilities, why not think bigger and take a swing at the 37-year-old Stafford? He is a far superior player to Wilson or Cousins, and probably to anyone else on the “bridge quarterback” list. In case you are wondering, I am not considering Sam Darnold a bridge quarterback.

I have seen speculation — and mind you it all speculation, no hard reporting or real indications of Rams-Giants negotiations — that Stafford might be in the market for a new three-year, $150 million contract with the first two years guaranteed. And that it might take the Giants’ 2026 first-round pick to make a trade happen.

Can you pay that that kind of price in both dollars and draft capital for a guy would be 39 at the end of a new three-year contract? Would doing that be considered the kind of “Hail Mary” Schoen has promised to avoid in an effort to go for a quick fix that might help he and Daboll stay employed?

It would keep the Giants from having to dive head-long into a questionable quarterback draft class, kicking that can down the road.

Would Stafford want the Giants?

It is my understanding that Stafford’s current contract with the Rams does not include a no-trade clause. I have been able to find no evidence of one. That means that, theoretically, the Rams could trade him wherever they want to.

You have to believe, though, that 16 years in the league and having helped the Rams win a Super Bowl in 2021 have earned Stafford the right to have say in where he goes. If, that is, he goes anywhere.

No matter what kind of adventure his wife says she is up for, I can’t believe Stafford would want the Giants.

Stafford spent the first 12 years of his career playing for a bad organization with the Detroit Lions, where he experienced eight losing seasons in 12 years.

The Giants went 3-14 in 2014. They have gone 9-25 combined the last two years. Their head coach is going to be kicked to the curb if 2025 doesn’t go well. The Giants perennially have offensive line issues, and Stafford isn’t getting more mobile and less brittle as he ages.

I can’t imagine the Giants being a desirable situation for Stafford to be dropped into. He only has a short time remaining in the league, and I have to believe he would prefer a landing spot on a team ready to win rather than one trying to scratch its way up from the bottom.

Final thoughts

I honestly think Stafford to the Giants is fantasy. It is nice offseason fodder for a desperate fan base to discuss. I just don’t see it as something that has a realistic chance of happening.