If the Rams can rebound from their 5-12 season in 2023, Matthew Stafford reportedly will be the quarterback conducting it under center.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Saturday that the Rams are expected to pick up Stafford’s “2023 option bonus and 2024 salary by the third day of the league year.” That aligned with what Stafford told reporters in his end-of-season press conference Monday, when he said there were “not really” any retirement conversations despite his two stints in concussion protocol and a season-ending spinal cord contusion this year.
According to Schefter, the anticipated decision would guarantee Stafford $62 million. He signed a four-year, $160 million extension following Los Angeles’ Super Bowl victory in 2021.
“I think you just lean on the people that know more about that stuff than I do,” Stafford said Monday. “Sometimes, those (injuries) happen. They’re unfortunate. They’re a little bit unsettling, sometimes, but I feel really comfortable and confident moving forward.”
Matthew Stafford only played nine games during the 2022 season due to injuries.Harry How/Getty Images
Matthew Stafford and his wife, Kelly, celebrate following the Rams’ Super Bowl win in 2021.Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImageStafford only appeared in nine games for the Rams this season — missing Week 10 with a concussion, returning for Week 11 and then not playing again the rest of the year. Speculation about a possible retirement for the 34-year-old began, but Stafford appeared on the podcast of his wife, Kelly, and said that he wasn’t retiring.
Los Angeles went 3-6 in the nine games Stafford started, and he threw for 2,087 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
In addition to the uncertainty surrounding Stafford’s status, the future of head coach Sean McVay had been up in the air. The 36-year-old coach took a few days to decide, and the Rams announced Friday that he will return as the team’s head coach for 2023.
The Rams went 3-6 during the nine games Matthew Stafford started this season.Sean Gardner/Getty ImagesThe Rams will have a new offensive coordinator, though, and one option that has emerged is former Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. Liam Coen returned to Kentucky after one season running the Rams’ offense, where he navigated a quarterback room that featured Stafford, John Wolford, Bryce Perkins and Baker Mayfield taking snaps.
Whoever inherits the offensive coordinator position, though, now knows they will have Stafford as an option to lead the unit.
“On the field wasn’t fun, wasn’t something I want to experience again — one of those things that’s, like I said, a little bit unsettling,” Stafford told reporters Monday. “Probably just trying to figure out why that’s happening, that was the biggest thing for me. We got a hold on that, figured that out and feel like just the rest that I’ve had is something that should set me up for a lot of success.”
