This offseason was one that brought a lot of change throughout the Los Angeles Rams as the franchise moved on from a number of big name players. But one player who remained with the team was quarterback Matthew Stafford.
But that doesn’t mean his name wasn’t brought up in rumors. There were some reports that the Rams were actively shopping their quarterback, but Rams COO Kevin Demoff rebuffed that notion, making it clear that while teams inquired about Stafford, the Rams were never shopping him around.
As far as what Stafford himself thought about all the rumors, he was flattered by the interest in him. “I don’t react to it at all, to be honest with you,” Stafford said. “I’m too busy chasing around four kids, but, no, I hear that stuff. I have contact with them all the time. I’m not sitting in on all those calls, but I get to know most of the details.
“I see it as flattering, I guess, that other teams would want to reach out and have me come play for them. I just know that I’m really happy where I am playing for this team, playing for this coach and these fans.”
The Rams quarterback would also reveal that the franchise has been in contact with him on potentially restructuring his contract, which is something that Demoff recently denied.
“I’m always in contact with them again on everything in those regards,” Stafford added. “They did and I’ll keep all that kind of stuff, those kinds of conversations in house. I’ll just leave it at that.”
A possible restructuring of his contract would be standard work for the Rams and Stafford, especially with the team still working on getting their salary cap in order, but for now he is simply focused on bouncing back after a rough year.
Injuries limited Stafford to only nine games last season, but he struggled mightily within those contests as well, as did the rest of the Rams who were absolutely decimated by injuries as a whole. Expectations this season are much lower, but the return of Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald all being fully healthy still makes the Rams a dangerous team.
Head coach Sean McVay said Stafford has a look in his eye coming into training camp this year and he is looking to silence a lot of doubters and get the Rams back amongst the NFL’s elite.
