Matthew Stafford has admitted he had a ‘nerve-wracking’ wait over his NFL future, before agreeing to stay with the Los Angeles Rams.
The 16-year veteran quarterback will return for his fifth season with the team in 2025, under a restructured contract.
News of the agreement was announced on February 28, and ended weeks of speculation about the Super Bowl winner’s future.
The specifics of Stafford’s new deal are expected to be finalized once the new league begins on March 12 and with a new restructured salary available then.
“I’m excited to be back,” he told the LA Times last Wednesday, breaking his silence on his return.
Stafford is now set to be the guest on this week’s New Heights podcast, and is expected to discuss his situation in more detail with Travis and Jason Kelce.
In a teaser clip, shared on social media, the quarterback opened up after ‘getting the elephant out of the room’.
“That was a little nerve-wracking there, for a little bit,” he told the Kelce brothers.
In February, the Rams had given Stafford’s camp permission to talk to other teams about his value and gauge any trade options.
NFL Insider Ian Rapoport noted at the time that after talks with the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants, the QB ended up taking less than he would’ve gotten elsewhere to stay in LA.
Essentially, in allowing his camp to gauge interest, the Rams got others to set the market and then convinced Stafford to stay put.
Having held talks with Tom Brady’s Raiders and the struggling Giants, remaining in Los Angeles gives the 37-year-old the best chance to chase a second Super Bowl ring.
The idea that Stafford might not have wanted to move his family also became a talking point as his new deal was being negotiated.
His wife, Kelly Stafford, said last Thursday that she was relieved after the Rams agreed to a restructured contract, and revealed she ‘went f***ing mad’ in recent weeks.
“Holy s***, am I so glad we’re here,” she said, during the latest episode of her podcast The Morning After.
“He’s very good at compartmentalizing everything,” Kelly said of her husband.
“Me on the other hand, when he says you think about the uncertainty all the time you go crazy – I went f***ing mad, I went so crazy.”
Stafford threw for 3,762 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 16 regular-season games last season, as he guided the Rams to a 10-7 record and an NFC West title.
Los Angeles also challenged in the playoffs, beating the Minnesota Vikings in a wild-card game, before falling in snowy conditions in the Divisional Round against the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Following Stafford’s decision to stay with the franchise, his back-up Jimmy Garoppolo has also been re-signed to a one-year contract.
Garoppolo’s deal has a base value of $4.505million guaranteed and $9m in incentives.
He played in only one game in 2024, the Week 18 contest in which most of LA’s starters sat out.
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