Getty Matthew Stafford throws the ball on November 6, 2022 in Tampa.
The word “remodel” has sparked debate about the future of Matthew Stafford with the Los Angeles Rams — with numerous NFL fans and Ram fans wondering if the Super Bowl winning quarterback will still retire or get dealt away.
Regarding the latter, Michael Lombardi went on the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, March 9 revealing that the Rams “would love to trade” Stafford. That prompted this strong message from general manager Les Snead on Thursday afternoon.
“I think we’ll definitely rely on Matthew, he’s definitely one of our pillars,” said Snead to L.A. reporters (h/t rams.com). “He’s definitely someone we’re going to rely on, (who) we’re gonna have to rely on as we do remodel this.”
There you have it. Stafford is part of the interior redesign and remodel going on inside the “Rams House.”
Rams Already Facing Thin QB Room
Moving Stafford would’ve meant someone else taking on his hefty salary — which involved the Rams inking him to a four-year, $160 million deal.
But with Stafford part of the remodeling plan for 2023, Snead and the Rams still need to figure out the rest of the QB room with the free agent signing period set to begin on Wednesday, March 15.
Baker Mayfield, Bryce Perkins and John Wolford are all free agents — with Mayfield labeled in the unrestricted category. While Mayfield’s name has been attached to QB needy teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Jets and even the rival San Francisco 49ers as their quarterbacks Trey Lance and Brock Purdy recover from injuries, NFL insider Jordan Schultz revealed on Monday, March 6 that the Rams “would like” to keep Mayfield while also sharing a projected dollar figure for the former No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 draft.
“It’s my understanding that the Rams would like to keep Baker Mayfield, but will have competition. The 49ers like Mayfield and the Bucs are a sleeper. I’d expect him to land on a number around $8 million,” Schultz posted.
Perkins and Wolford are either exclusive rights free agents or restricted free agents for the 2023 cycle.
The Rams could still either turn to free agency and get a inexpensive backup like Taylor Heinicke, Marcus Mariota or Mike White (who has New York Jet ties with new Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur). Or, they can pivot to the draft and make names like Hendon Hooker of Tennessee or Jake Haener of Fresno State a priority — as both have been mentioned as possibilities for the Rams on various mock draft boards.
Snead Sounded Off on Other Cornerstone Ram Players, but Noticeably Leaves Out One
Back to Snead, he not only mentioned Stafford as part of the 2023 plans, but also mentioned two more cornerstones as “weight-bearing walls” for this franchise.
“The reason I say ‘remodel’, not ‘rebuild,’ is a player like Matthew Stafford is — to me, in a rebuild, you would just bulldoze the house down and rebuild from the ground up,” said Snead. “But again, when you have someone like Matthew Stafford, players like Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald…there are some weight-bearing walls there that we still have, and we’re gonna rely on those. And at that point, remodel around them.”
So Kupp and “A.D” are part of the plans moving forward. But noticeable in Snead’s comments: No mention of Pro Bowl CB Jalen Ramsey, who’s been the subject of trade rumors with the Rams.
This could signify that Ramsey is among the nine players who the Rams have received trade calls from per Snead (the GM didn’t reveal which players by name).