In February, it seemed as if quarterback Matthew Stafford was willing to leave the Rams. He needed to create that impression in order to stir up the kind of interest elsewhere that would, in turn, leverage the Rams into offering something more for 2025.
On the first day of the offseason program, Stafford was asked by reporters to explain what made him stick around.
“It wasn’t something that happened on that Friday during that meeting,” Stafford said. “It’s not one thing that sits there and goes, ‘Hey, this is the reason. There’s one thing that makes me want to come back.’ There are so many positive things about our organization and about our team. I never really wanted to leave. I’m just happy to be back and happy that the Rams want me back. We can move forward and hopefully have a great season.”
At last check — three weeks ago — Stafford’s revised contract had not yet been signed. And while the numbers have yet to be made available, Stafford spoke as if it’s indeed a done deal.
“It’s great to have that done and kind of out of the way as we get this thing going,” Stafford said. “Obviously, I’m happy that I’m going to be coming back and doing it again here, which is great.”
Stafford was asked whether he took talk of a trade seriously, which is an odd question because he was the one talking to other teams about a trade.
“I think anytime those kinds of things come up, you’re doing due diligence and looking around,” Stafford said. “I’m a fan of the NFL. I know a lot of these coaches, a lot of the players, a lot of the teams and some of their situations. You poke your head around and see what’s going on. Wanting to be back with the Rams was my number one priority and glad that worked out so I don’t have to worry too much about it.”
The problem is that his two top suitors (the Raiders and Giants) thought he was doing more than poking his head around. They thought he was in play. And then he wasn’t.
Regardless, Stafford returns on a year-to-year arrangement with the Rams. Is he OK with that?
“I’m happy to be back and happy that we have agreed to do this thing again,” Stafford said. “I think the longer that I’m in the game and the longer that I’m playing football, there’s an understanding between myself and the organization on what we want that to look like and what we want that to be. That has been great, communication-wise, with those guys.”
Plenty of quarterbacks would want more security than one year at a time. Stafford is fine with it. It’s the kind of attitude that can give a player much more flexibility. Even if it appears, as to Stafford, that he’s not willing to utilize it.
Published April 21, 2025 09:48 PM
In February, it seemed as if quarterback Matthew Stafford was willing to leave the Rams. He needed to create that impression in order to stir up the kind of interest elsewhere that would, in turn, leverage the Rams into offering something more for 2025.
On the first day of the offseason program, Stafford was asked by reporters to explain what made him stick around.
“It wasn’t something that happened on that Friday during that meeting,” Stafford said. “It’s not one thing that sits there and goes, ‘Hey, this is the reason. There’s one thing that makes me want to come back.’ There are so many positive things about our organization and about our team. I never really wanted to leave. I’m just happy to be back and happy that the Rams want me back. We can move forward and hopefully have a great season.”
At last check — three weeks ago — Stafford’s revised contract had not yet been signed. And while the numbers have yet to be made available, Stafford spoke as if it’s indeed a done deal.
“It’s great to have that done and kind of out of the way as we get this thing going,” Stafford said. “Obviously, I’m happy that I’m going to be coming back and doing it again here, which is great.”
Stafford was asked whether he took talk of a trade seriously, which is an odd question because he was the one talking to other teams about a trade.
“I think anytime those kinds of things come up, you’re doing due diligence and looking around,” Stafford said. “I’m a fan of the NFL. I know a lot of these coaches, a lot of the players, a lot of the teams and some of their situations. You poke your head around and see what’s going on. Wanting to be back with the Rams was my number one priority and glad that worked out so I don’t have to worry too much about it.”
The problem is that his two top suitors (the Raiders and Giants) thought he was doing more than poking his head around. They thought he was in play. And then he wasn’t.
Regardless, Stafford returns on a year-to-year arrangement with the Rams. Is he OK with that?
“I’m happy to be back and happy that we have agreed to do this thing again,” Stafford said. “I think the longer that I’m in the game and the longer that I’m playing football, there’s an understanding between myself and the organization on what we want that to look like and what we want that to be. That has been great, communication-wise, with those guys.”
Plenty of quarterbacks would want more security than one year at a time. Stafford is fine with it. It’s the kind of attitude that can give a player much more flexibility. Even if it appears, as to Stafford, that he’s not willing to utilize it.
