The Rams head coach opened up on the Fitz & Whit podcast Tuesday
After weeks of speculation, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay appeared on the Fitz & Whit podcast Tuesday to give some clarity on the Matthew Stafford contract issues and trade rumors, while providing a better understanding of the team’s thought process. McVay made it clear that the team wants Stafford back first-and-foremost, but he is also trying to work through the situation with both short and long-term plans in mind.
First, McVay opened up by praising his quarterback, reiterating his point that the team does hope that Stafford will continue to lead the Rams into the 2025 season.
“At the end of the day, nobody was right or wrong. And then, ultimately, you’re saying there’s a ton of interest because this guy’s an incredible player. There’s no discrepancy on us wanting him to continue to lead the way and be our quarterback,” said McVay.
As the interview continued though, McVay became a bit more diplomatic, diving deeper into why LA would even consider trading Stafford coming off an NFC divisional round appearance.
“The interesting and the challenging dilemma and dynamics within this are, ‘Hey, how do you continuously as a head coach look at the short term and the long term and be able to figure out what does that really look like?’ There is no dispute,” McVay said. “Let’s not get it twisted in regarding to anybody wanting him to be our quarterback. 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?’
While McVay does make it clear for an additional time that there is no dispute from anyone about not wanting him to be the team’s quarterback, his acknowledgement of taking the long term plans into consideration is very telling. It shows that this is not just a negotiating tactic by the Rams, and it seems if push comes to shove, the team would consider a move off of their veteran quarterback if they felt it was truly the best path for a successful future.
Stafford is reportedly looking for at least $50 million per season, but would be willing to take a hometown discount to stay in Los Angeles. The problem is the Rams don’t seem to want to pay his current contract, let alone want give him a significant bump per season. NFL Network’s Peter Schrager, who has some close ties to the Rams franchise, spoke on Good Morning Football about what he’s heard:
“He (Matthew Stafford) wants to be paid more than $50 million. They (the LA Rams) have given the agent, Jimmy Sexton, one of the best agents in all of football . . . the freedom to seek out what might be some teams that would be of interest and if those teams would pay him. Guess what? There are teams that are willing to pay him more than the Rams are currently willing to pay him. The question is: Does Stafford want to go to those teams?” Schrager continued, “What are those teams willing to give up? That is really where we are starting that number: $50 million . . . Would the Giants be willing to trade the 34th overall pick for Matthew Stafford? . . . Several quarterbacks would love to play for the Rams.”
It’s been reported that expected free agent QB Aaron Rodgers would be interested in joining the Rams and would try to bring WR Davante Adams with him if he was to be released by the New York Jets. While many may see Stafford as a better option than Rodgers, the latter provides something that Stafford cannot – solid play on a short term deal at a very low cost. This move, no matter how unlikely, would also come with an expected first or second round pick, as the Rams would demand some kind of large compensation back for Stafford. The New York Daily News reported that Rodgers, who has a home in Malibu, prefers to play for Los Angeles over other options.
All that said, it makes little sense that Stafford would want to leave LA at 37-years-old to go start over again, especially when considering teams like the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders are the rumored highest bidders. Would Stafford really want to leave a team that is a real Super Bowl contender, chock-full of young talent, just to head to a rebuild team in the bottom of the division?
I don’t buy it.
Stafford left the Detroit Lions four years ago because he didn’t want to be apart of Dan Campbell’s rebuild at 33-years old. Why would he now want to move on from a perennial playoff team to join the Giants or Raiders, two teams with a combined seven wins last season, just to be in the same situation he was leaving in Detroit but now four years older.
Some NFL personalities have also expressed some skepticism in Stafford’s motives and why he would want to leave LA. Fox Sport’s analyst Colin Cowherd said on his show:
“Matt, you’ve made a lot of money. You’ve made $360 million. If you sign $40 million for two years, you end up making close to $450 million, and you get a Super Bowl– and I’m serious here – Rams for the next two years with Stafford are in the Super Bowl bubble,”
On top of Cowherd, NFL analyst John Middlekauff also expressed concerns, saying:
“It doesn’t get any better than the Rams. I would have stopped this conversation. I will do whatever it takes. Let’s do a two-year deal for like, $40 million guaranteed every penny. I want to be here.”
There’s many questions still to be answer, and the Stafford trade rumors are not going away no matter how “done” the fan base is with them. The strong feeling is that the two sides still will find a way to work it out and have Stafford in horns for next season, however, it sounds like if that’s not the case, McVay and company have a plan on how to go forward.
