Stu Jackson@StuJRams
Rams HC Sean McVay: “Full expectation” Tyler Higbee and Rob Havenstein are back in 2025

Zooey wrote:

Ram have met with top 3 TE prospects

They also met with the top receivers.

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Sean McVay: Rams will adjust Matthew Stafford’s financial terms under existing extension – operating on a year-to-year basis. He expects this conversation again next year (reiterating he wants Stafford as long as Stafford wants to play). He hopes it takes even less time in 2026.

Get Up@GetUpESPN
“[The Rams are] a very real Super Bowl contender with [Matt] Stafford.”

—@danorlovsky7 on Matthew Stafford and the Rams agreeing to a restructured deal

Dan Orlovsky@danorlovsky7
Top 2/3

for vid go here: https://twitter.com/danorlovsky7/status/1896557284320583844

Zooey wrote:

That’s a different thing, though. You’re talking about Hit Rates on picks. I’m talking about the player position/type that McVay wants. If he thinks he needs a TE more than a WR, then I trust that he does. Whether he falls in love with the right TE is another story.

Well I see your point, but the problem with McVay is that he never just butts in with a position in mind. He not only focuses on a position, he has favorite players he wants, and on top of it, in the past anyway his player favorites tend to be overestimations (at least in the 2nd round). All of these players were taken too high–Atwell, Akers, Jefferson, Everett. Like all things McVay, he is better when he’s collaborative. It’s true Snead goes along with it but then it’s the head coach in round 2 so Snead is not likely to debate it.

Anyway, just me being pedantic.

At the same time, we know that the Rams need and want both a TE and a WR and that it’s a deep draft for both positions.

What he learned from Aaron Donald, favorite memories from the 2018 Super Bowl season + more!

🎙️ Rams Legend Michael Brockers joins @DMarcoFarr1 on this episode of Rams Iconic. pic.twitter.com/3ordPIDEon

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) March 2, 2025

Wyatt Miller@wymill07
18 quarterbacks have played in at least 2 playoff games since 2021. Here’s where Stafford ranks in key postseason stats:

YPG: 298.3 (2nd)
TDs/G: 2.14 (6th)
EPA/Play: 0.29 (1st)
Success Rate: 51.3% (4th)

Vincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
For the millionth time, money wasn’t the issue. The Raiders and Stafford were in agreement on compensation (and it was a lot)

The Rams held the ultimate card – he was still under contract with them – to either trade him or try to convince him to stay with an increased offer.

A two this year and next year’s one would have gotten it done.

Everyone has their price. The Raiders were unwilling to go that far.

Keep in mind: @Raiders showed some discipline by not budging on holding onto pick No. 6.

Things would look different right now had they been okay with moving that pick to get Stafford.

Ari Meirov@MySportsUpdate
The top guard, Trey Smith, and the top offensive tackle, Alaric Jackson, in the upcoming free agent class are now off the board. Elite offensive linemen, especially young ones, rarely hit free agency.

Free Agency Frosty@FrostyTalksFB
Alaric Jackson back in LA!

Jackson, 26, 6-7, 330lbs was UDFA out of Windsor, Canada 🇨🇦

Starting 35 games at LT, Jackson was one of only 13 OT with a 75+ PFF grade in PB and RB

2024 Stats – 15 GP

78.4 PFF grade (12/33 among OTs)
75.2 Run Block (10/33)
79.2 Pass Block (9/33)

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.

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

Adam Schefter@AdamSchefter
The Rams and Matthew Stafford were one play away from beating the Eagles in snowy Philadelphia and advancing to the NFC Championship Game in their own building. It’s clear the team is closer to a Super Bowl than not, and Stafford gives them the best chance to get there. And both sides made that happen today with a restructured deal.

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.