Rams trades, cuts, signings & extensions: update, J.Jax traded

Rams, Matthew Stafford agree to restructured contract that keeps QB in Los Angeles

Jourdan Rodrigue and Dianna Russini

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6166913/2025/02/28/rams-matthew-stafford-restructured-contract/

Quarterback Matthew Stafford is staying in Los Angeles, the Rams announced Friday. He will have a restructured contract to do so, league sources said.

The move came after almost a year of speculation about Stafford’s future with the team following his dissatisfaction with his contract last offseason. The Rams met with Stafford on Friday morning.

The Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants were both in the mix for Stafford, with both teams extending significant contract offers in case the quarterback was available for trade. League sources told The Athletic this week that the two teams discussed two-year deals that included between $90 million and $100 million guaranteed.

Both the Rams and Stafford also remained open to working out a deal, team and league sources said throughout the process. The two sides stayed in close communication about the matter when talks picked back up after the Super Bowl. The Rams also gave Stafford’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, permission to speak with other teams about contract terms, and those conversations unfolded through the week at the NFL Scouting Combine.

The Rams were wary about making a long-term financial commitment to a 37-year-old quarterback whose long-term future or durability they can’t be certain about – even though Stafford’s level of play inarguably gives them their best chance to win right now. Their young roster, built through two successful drafts, is now their core identity with several of those players eligible for early contract extensions in the next two seasons and that financial planning to eventually map out.

Although the Rams preferred to stay year to year on any new contract or contract adjustment, according to a league source, it was always clear that Stafford would not play on his contract as it was previously structured.

After his dispute with the team last spring over the remaining money on the four-year extension he signed in 2022, he and the Rams adjusted to effectively make it a one-year deal despite its outlined years running through 2026. Guaranteed money was front-loaded into 2024 (he had $23 million in guarantees this season on a $46.1 million cap number, per Over the Cap), and only $4 million is guaranteed next season, with none in 2026.

While Stafford’s $40-45 million in annual salary average was low relative to his production (about the middle of the NFL while he has largely produced like a top-10 quarterback in L.A.), his cash salary currently ranks No. 7 since signing the extension into 2025 at $152 million as Over the Cap initially noted.

Adjusting the deal that way paved the way for this year’s negotiation, while head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead’s lack of verbal commitment to Stafford in year-end news conferences in January opened the door to a possible trade.

Stafford missed part of the 2022 season with a spinal cord contusion after taking a record number of hits for a quarterback in the McVay era. But between 2023-24, he missed only one game due to an injury (a sprained tendon in his thumb).

Los Angeles traded for Stafford after their divisional-round loss in 2021, a move that marked the beginning of their 2022 Super Bowl run and title. The Rams have made the postseason in three of his four seasons in L.A. (Super Bowl, wild card and divisional round).

In the locker room after January’s divisional-round loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Stafford was sure he would continue playing football despite ongoing questions about his future.

“It sure feels like it,” he said with a grin when The Athletic asked him whether he felt he had good football left in him.

The Rams had no backup quarterback or long-term future behind Stafford. Former fourth-round pick Stetson Bennett was drafted in 2023 to eventually become the team’s career backup (he was their No. 3 quarterback last season), and 2024 backup Jimmy Garoppolo was signed to a one-year deal. Los Angeles picks No. 26 in the first round of this year’s draft, which isn’t considered very deep at the quarterback position.

Led by McVay, the Rams saw Garoppolo as a possible “bridge” player for the 2025 season if they did move on from Stafford this spring. A pairing with New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who is expected to be released (though he has permission to speak with other teams), also was possible. The Rams were interested in Rodgers before their trade for Stafford in 2021.

In any possible replacement via free agency, the Rams would have only sought a bridge quarterback on a cheap, shorter-term deal.

Any quarterback they invest significant capital into (whether via trade, free agency or the draft) moving forward will have to be a key element in their long-term plan.

But for now, and perhaps for a run at a championship in 2025, Stafford will still lead the Rams.

NFL Combine 2025 Notes: Why Matthew Stafford Stayed With the Rams
Los Angeles’s decision to allow his reps to gauge his market pays off. Plus, quarterback options for the Giants, Raiders, Browns and Steelers.

Albert Breer

https://www.si.com/nfl/nfl-combine-2025-notes-why-matthew-stafford-stayed-with-rams

We’re in the final few days of the NFL combine in Indianapolis. And we have one last set of notes before we wrap up the weekend on Monday …

• In the end, the Matthew Stafford saga boiled down to something remarkably simple for the 37-year-old Los Angeles Rams quarterback: Stafford likes living in Southern California and he wants to play for Sean McVay, his coach for the past four years.

Those two elements gave the Rams a level of confidence that they’d get a deal done, even as things went a little sideways the past couple of weeks, and over the past year.

Did they have alternatives? Of course. There was the chance that it wouldn’t work out with Stafford. So the idea that Aaron Rodgers could arrive on a discount, or that Jimmy Garoppolo could be a bridge were discussed, for the same reason Stafford looked at his options with the New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders and elsewhere.

In the end, in a weird way, the Rams’ decision to allow Stafford and his agent, Jimmy Sexton, to talk to other teams actually helped. It allowed Stafford to figure out his market value in an environment where nine other quarterbacks are making more than $50 million per year, and give the team a look at what a post-Stafford world would look like. It also brought into focus that each side’s best play was staying together.

So the word was Thursday night in Indianapolis that the Rams’ brass would meet with Stafford at the team facility at 6:30 a.m. Los Angeles time, and by lunchtime at the combine, the news had become public that a reunion was in the offing.

Which, obviously (at least now), is what everyone here wanted for a conclusion

trey wingo@wingoz
In season 16 Stafford played as well as he ever had. Makes sense for him to stay with the
@RamsNFL

Peter Schrager@PSchrags
Giants did their job in uncovering every stone and being communicative with the Rams. Raiders were in it as well. Jimmy Sexton canvassed the marketplace and knew there was more $$ elsewhere. In end, the Staffords + Rams decided it was in everyone’s best interest to run it back.

Jordan Schultz@Schultz_Report
The #Raiders and #Giants made aggressive financial offers to Matthew Stafford, including multi-year deals with significant guarantees, per sources. While the Rams’ offer will fall short of those figures, Stafford and the team let cooler heads prevail and everyone agreed that staying in LA—without relocating his family—gives him the best chance at another Super Bowl. And now it’s done.

Adam Schefter@AdamSchefter
Whether Matthew Stafford returned to LA or was traded to another team was going to influence potential pending QB decisions with multiple NFL teams. Now that Stafford is slotted to LA, QB-needy teams such as the Raiders, Steelers, Giants and Browns can continue on with their off-season QB plans.

Geoff Schwartz@geoffschwartz
All that fuss for the most likely outcome

@speed_kills@speedk1lls
no more playing around. the Rams gotta get him more speed on the outside … we gotta get one more while he’s here

from https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/44042667/matthew-stafford-los-angeles-rams-stay-together-2025

McVay said after the season that he hoped the team and Stafford would have clarity on the situation “sooner than later.”

“I’m sure proud of the body of work and really proud of the way that he’s played,” McVay said during his end-of-season news conference. “The coolest thing you can say about Matthew is he shines the brightest on the biggest stages. When you look at the seven playoff games that he’s played in since he’s been a Ram, he certainly gives you a chance every time you step out on the field, and for that I’m sure appreciative.”
…
Stafford is 191 yards shy of 60,000 career passing yards, a milestone nine other quarterbacks have reached.

Zooey wrote:

zn wrote:

RamsMaineiac wrote:

Does “restructure” imply no extension, as in still just for 2025 & 2026?

I think so.

I think it also implies no salary increase.

Just a difference in what gets paid when, and how much is guaranteed.

Yeah I suspect they just moved around the guarantees. Which ought to have been easy since basically he had almost nothing in guaranteed salary.

This is Cowherd a few hours before Stafford signed…at 5:26 in:

Ian (Rams Up Pod)@_mandalorian27
Alaric is now the 13th Highest paid Offensive Tackle in the NFL.

I’m all for it!

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Chicago is taking on Jackson’s salary, a source said.

Kudos owed to Jackson for how he handled the entire situation – combination of injury and his backup emerging as starter. Stayed a great teammate the whole time. Now reunites with Ben Johnson in CHI.

Albert Breer@AlbertBreer
The Bears are taking on Jonah Jackson’s contract as is—he’s due $9 million in fully-guaranteed base salary for 2025, then $17 million (non-guaranteed) in 2026. Rams wound up paying him $25 million for the single year, take the sunk cost now.

…

Trade: Rams are in the process of sending veteran offensive lineman Jonah Jackson to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick, per ESPN’s @CourtneyRCronin. The trade cannot be processed until March 12. pic.twitter.com/lj3M8VW5V8

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 4, 2025

InvaderRam wrote:

so how much do the rams save in cap space with the jackson trade? apologies if i somehow missed it in the previous posts.

It’s not really clear yet. Chicago took on his contract but they can’t take on his signing bonus, which is now due as a whole against the Rams cap.

It will take a couple of days to find out, I think.

Adam Grosbard@AdamGrosbard
Les Snead on if the Rams will be in contact with Ahkello Witherspoon: “Definitely.”

Demarcus Robinson: “He does have some things that he’s gotta work through legally [this] offseason that could prevent play time in the future, so that’s the reality. We appreciate what he’s done”

‪Jourdan Rodrigue‬ ‪@jourdanrodrigue.bsky.social‬
The Rams have extended WR Tutu Atwell to a one-year, $10 million deal, per source.

The Rams have broadcast their intent to rebuild WR room around Puka Nacua and noted it’s unlikely Robinson returns. Atwell has the speed, knowledge and the hands to play this complementary role but was hard to get him snaps with other guys in roles + preference not to sub in 11.

Tutu Atwell, Rams agree to 1-year, $10 million deal: Source

By Jourdan Rodrigue and RJ Kraft

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6180689/2025/03/06/rams-tutu-atwell-extension-nfl-free-agency/

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 06: Tutu Atwell #5 of the Los Angeles Rams returns a punt during the first half of a game against the Green Bay Packers at SoFi Stadium on October 06, 2024 in Inglewood, California.
Tutu Atwell is returning to the Los Angeles Rams on a one-year deal worth $10 million, according to a league source.

Atwell was the No. 77 ranked free agent on The Athletic’s top 150 list and the 13th-highest wide receiver on the board.

The 25-year-old is coming off his best season; he established career highs in receptions (42) and receiving yards (562) in his fourth year with the Los Angeles Rams. He ranked third on the team in each of those categories — behind Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua — for the league’s 10th-best passing offense.

Retaining Atwell helps bolster a Rams receiving group that returns Nacua and second-year player Jordan Whittington. The team has informed Kupp that they want to trade him and they are working with his agent to find a fit for the veteran receiver.

Drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Louisville, it took time for the 5-foot-9, 165-pound Atwell to earn some run in a Rams offensive system where run blocking is a key trait and targets were dominated at different points in his L.A. tenure by Kupp, Nacua and Robert Woods.

Atwell’s speed is his best attribute and he has an average of 13.6 yards per reception. Over four seasons with the Rams, he has 99 receptions, 1,343 receiving yards, four receiving touchdowns and one rushing TD. Atwell has never played over 64 percent of the team’s offensive snaps in a season, according to Pro Football Reference.

The Rams have been active ahead of free agency. In the last week, the team has agreed to a restructured deal with quarterback Matthew Stafford, reached a deal to re-sign left tackle Alaric Jackson and have a trade in place to send offensive lineman Jonah Jackson to the Chicago Bears at the start of the league year on March 12.

Bigger role on tap for Atwell

The Rams have broadcast their intent to rebuild their receiver room around their young star Nacua. General manager Les Snead also expressed his doubt Wednesday that veteran receiver Demarcus Robinson, who had played in the downfield/”X” position for the Rams for the last two seasons, will return to the team this season.

Atwell, whose longer-term future with the Rams was in doubt because of his limited snaps, will step into that role and also be a factor in their motion and sweeps packages. Atwell has the speed, the knowledge of the offense and the hands to play this complementary role. It was hard to get him more snaps behind the other players and Sean McVay’s preference not to substitute players while in 11 personnel. The X receiver is not the No. 1 receiver in McVay’s offense; in fact, he can be as low as the third- or fourth-most targeted player. This offense will run through Nacua, who plays a multi-faceted position in the offense.