Matthew Stafford has been all the buzz this week for the Pittsburgh Steelers as SI.com’s Albert Breer reported that the team has shown interest in the 37-year-old former Super Bowl champion. The Steelers have an obvious need, and for the first time in a long time they do actually have the cap space to potentially make it work. The only issue is that Stafford is technically still under contract with the Los Angeles Rams.
Could the Rams make him available? His agent has reportedly been given permission to at least talk to other teams, but Rams head coach Sean McVay sent mixed signals on the Fitz & Whit podcast via YouTube.
“There’s no discrepancy on us wanting him to continue to lead the way and be our quarterback,” McVay said. “The interesting and challenging dilemma and dynamics within this are, hey, how do you continuously as the head coach look at the short term and the long term and be able to figure out what does that really look like?”
Much like any team should be doing as their star quarterback hits his upper 30s, the Rams are taking a step back and looking at the big picture. Sure, they could go all in on Stafford right now, but there is no guarantee he will keep this level of play beyond the next year or two. If they try to build around what ends up being a weak foundation, it could set them back for years.
“How do we continuously build? How do we support him,” McVay said. “What is his worth relative to those things? So at the end of the day, we had something in mind [and] he had something in mind, and nobody was right or wrong.”
Stafford reportedly wants $50 million per season to continue playing. With the current quarterback market and the ever-inflating salary cap, it’s hard to argue against that. Still, he is 37 years old and has an extensive injury history that will eventually catch up to his body.
These are the things the Rams must consider. It sounds like Stafford hasn’t openly stated his plan for how much longer he wants to play, possibly because he isn’t fully sure.
“We’ve had conversations where he could probably play however much longer he wants, but it’s been on a year-to-year in terms of our dialogue,” McVay said. “Now, is that one, is that two? Only he can answer that.”
That makes it tricky for the Rams to commit big money to him, and it could also make it tricky for any potential trade suitors who are interested. But the Rams have to at least consider all options, and it sounds like there is plenty of preliminary interest.
“There’s a ton of interest because this guy’s an incredible player,” McVay said. “…I do think for us to be able to make the most educated decision in terms of the cash budget that we operate on, the draft comp that you would get in return, you just need to be able to have all the parameters to at least explore it.”
While there are reports that the Steelers have some interest in Stafford, P-G insider Gerry Dulac stated today that they have not yet spoken with him.
With free agency looming, it is in everybody’s best interest to get this sorted out sooner rather than later. Nobody wants to be the team without their quarterback situation figured out (and no clear path to drafting one) as the most active part of free agency happens. It can be hard to sell free agents on signing with your team that way.
To me, there is at least some fear that this could end up a similar version of the Brandon Aiyuk trade last year. Could it drag out for too long before the Rams ultimately decide they can’t part ways with him for the price Omar Khan offers? Most teams can’t afford to play the waiting game when it comes to figuring out their 2025 quarterback. Nobody wants to be left sifting through the scrap heap.
In the end, the Rams very clearly want to keep him. Maybe some other team will offer the king’s ransom. I can’t see that being the Steelers. But one thing is clear: the Rams want to keep him in LA.
“There’s no doubt that’s what we want,” McVay said.
