Sean McVay wants to avoid what happened last offseason when the Los Angeles Rams spent months in limbo awaiting clarity from Matthew Stafford.
After reaching the playoffs and beating the Minnesota Vikings in the wild-card round, Los Angeles ended its season with a road loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC divisional playoffs last week, thus restarting the cycle of Stafford questions for the coach.
“We don’t want to have that go on again,” McVay said of Stafford stringing out a final call on whether he’ll play another season. “I don’t think that’s good for anybody. I think sooner than later, being able to get that clarity. Understanding clear, open and honest communication. I think there’s a lot of love coming from our part. I think there’s a lot of appreciation coming from his part as well. And I think a lot sooner than later is an ideal scenario.”
McVay did not fully commit to keeping Stafford as the QB1 in 2025. His plan, as usual, is to begin charting a course at quarterback, then expanding to other positions.
“The quarterback is always the first thing in mind as it relates to how you move forward with the team,” McVay said.
Stafford was acquired from the Lions in a deal in which the Rams sent Jared Goff and draft picks that ultimately landed wide receiver Jameson Williams, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, tight end Sam LaPorta and others in Detroit. Thirteen months after the trade was completed, Stafford and McVay were celebrating a win in Super Bowl LVI in February 2022.
Asked whether the Rams are definitively committed to Stafford in his 17th NFL season if he doesn’t retire, McVay was vague.
“We’ll talk about all those things at the appropriate time,” he said. “I love him. I love working with him.”
Stafford is among the league’s statistical greats, ranked 10th all-time in career passing yards (59,809) and touchdown passes (377), and ninth in both pass completions and attempts. He’s 5-2 with the Rams in the playoffs after going 0-3 over his 12 seasons in Detroit.
Stafford said he feels like he’s playing good enough football to return. He turns 37 two days before the Super Bowl and is recovering from a rib injury McVay confirmed was a factor in his performance, although it didn’t keep Stafford out of practice. Stafford’s wife, Kelly, said her husband played the final games of the season with five broken ribs suffered in a 12-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers last month.
McVay said tests on Stafford were taken after the game and “nothing showed up on that imaging.”
“But he did have some irritation. And then before the Minnesota game when he did get an MRI scan there showed some stress reactions. That was what was communicated to me,” McVay said.
–Field Level Media
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