The Los Angeles Rams wound up assembling one of the most talented rosters in the NFL during the 2021 season.
Already loaded on defense with Aaron Donald leading the way, the Rams went hard after Matthew Stafford and the quarterback paid off their gamble by leading them to a win in Super Bowl LVI. Both on and off the field, Donald and Stafford led Los Angeles through their excellent postseason run and now head into the offseason where they are in line for lucrative extensions.
Head coach Sean McVay spoke highly of his two team captains and said the duo have earned the pay raise, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
Yes, there were a lot of important players who had a hand in that success, but McVay said those two “are foundational pieces on each side of the ball.” Accordingly, new deals for both is at the top of the offseason to-do list.
“They’re basically both unanimously voted captains. They epitomize what’s right about the Rams,” McVay said. “And so I think the other thing that’s special is these guys deserve and will be rewarded accordingly, but I think they also understand they want to work in coordination to try to help us be as competitive as we can.”
For how they performed in the playoffs, Donald and Stafford are more than deserving of lucrative extensions. Even though the Rams currently have negative cap space, they should be able to free up more than enough to pay the captains closer to their market value.
The interesting thing to note here is that if McVay is talking about a new deal for Donald it all but confirms he is set to return for the 2022 season. Donald seemed like he was seriously mulling retirement, but it sounds like a potential new deal could keep him in L.A. for the foreseeable future. Ultimately, though, the Rams will have the core of their roster for next year and that bodes well for the Super Bowl defense.
