Early Friday morning, as The quarter of Los Angeles Rams Matthew Stafford Prepared for a meeting with head coach Sean Mcvay, a source of league that is significantly interested in the Carrousel QB of the offseason offered a prediction and a theory on the history which had dominated the beginning of the NFL scout combination: Stafford and the Rams would remain together in 2025; Financial common ground would be found; And although Stafford never says it publicly, the compromise would present that sometimes elite players learn errors of their peers.
In this case, Stafford was not going to fall into the same trap which swallowed some of the last years of the career of Aaron Rodgers, leaving the future renowned temple Spectacular failure with New York Jets.
“They played (at the end of the 2024 season) and I know the respect that Matthew has for Aaron,” said the source. “I don’t think it’s lost for him what happened with Aaron and the jets. (Before their late December match) Matthew was questioned about Aaron and I am sure that there were mental notes taken – in particular with Matthew knowing that there would be career decisions to take this offseason. “”
“When it is time (Crunch), I think Matthew will know that his best opportunity to finish his conditions and win will be (with the Rams).”
In the end, the source guessed correctly. Several hours later, the Rams announced that they had concluded an agreement to maintain staff in place for the 2025 season. And just like that, the other The future quarter-rear of the winter renown temple of his career avoided the type of inherited ceiling dice that currently defines the search for the search for rodgers for redemption.
Stafford was a big domino on the QB market
It is the First key moment in this quarter of the offseason.Sending undulations that have an impact not only Stafford and Rams, but also Rodgers, New York Giants, Las Vegas raiders, Pittsburgh steelers, Tennessee titans and perhaps the new Recruit quarter-Arrière course. Consider:
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With Stafford sticking with the Rams, it removes a potential destination for Rodgers, which, according to sources, would have been considered a staff replacement in Los Angeles.
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Rodgers now becomes a candidate for the Giants, who – at this stage – are looking for a veteran who can win matches in 2025 for a front office and coach staff who are on fragile field.
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Raiders and Steelers could change their dynamics, Stafford having been the best veteran goal in Las Vegas and a long goal for Pittsburgh. Now, the raiders and the steelers will consider Rodgers, with the situation of Pittsburgh having an impact on Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, who are still at stake to be the starter of the franchise in 2025.
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With Stafford out of the board of directors, the raiders are still at stake to potentially write a recruit quarter, which can have an impact on Cam Ward or Sheder Sanders, as well as the Titans, who have the n ° 1 choice in the draft and could entertain him to a quarter-Arrière pretender.
This is Gravity’s kind of decision that Stafford had on the talks in the quarter-back at the beginning of the beginning of the combine harvester, which was largely slow because everyone was waiting to understand if the jobs for rams, giants or raids would be open by the end of the week.
Money was not the only factor in the Rams, the Stafford agreement
So how did it come back to come back together in Los Angeles? The best way to describe it would be to point out what happened with Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers of San Francisco of the last off -season. Wanting an extension of contract at the market level that the 49ers were not initially ready to give, Aiyuk asked for authorization to align trade partners. The 49ers gave him the green light, but have always kept the door open for a return – which certain members of the organization would occur after Aiyuk had a look at the organizations arranged to give him the contract he wanted.
At the end of the process, Aiyuk could have built an agreement with the New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns or Steelers. Instead of choosing one, he was lacking in his preference at the start of his continuation of the off -season extension: to try to conclude his agreement in San Francisco. This is ultimately what happened, with an agreement at the market level which was delivered at least in part because the 49ers had an extensive look at training camp practices to what the offense without a healthy Aiyuk looked like.
There were also parallels with all this saga with the Rams and Stafford. The Rams knew that he and his family were installed in their lives and their community in southern California. Having a new city or perhaps spending time apart during the 2025 season and maybe 2026 would also be a difficult choice to make. They also knew that the teams arranged to give to Stafford the salary bump he was looking for could not match the very young and talented list that Mcvay and the Director General Les Snead had built in Los Angeles. So, this would ultimately be summed up with a primordial question: if the RAMs have kicked off in a little more money, the financial difference between their offer and an agreement of one or two years with the raids or the giants would be enough to overcome a significant life and family change, as well as a career bet which could end with staff according to the steps of rodgers?
The answer was no.
Stafford saw the other side of the fence when things are very bad. Some parts of his Detroit Lions experience taught him this. He was not going to find another Mcvay elsewhere, not to mention another Puka Nacua or the assembly of young defensive players who are positioned to take a big step forward for the Rams in 2025.
Conversely, the RAMs were also put in a position where they had to consider their options without staff. Could a reduced rate rodgers give them 90% of what they had in Stafford? Could a cheap Jimmy Groppolo give them 85% of the performances? And what would it look like? Was it worth risking the development of Nacua, which is still on an earth contract and seemed to be ready to take its place among the first two or three of the NFL?
Frankly, these are questions inherited for Stafford and the Rams, especially when the franchise is again looking for a team from the Super Bowl. Changing this now just to save $ 10 million in 2025 could be catastrophic. And it is without even entering the conversation on the way in which he seems to have Mcvay leaves Company with another quarter-arre that was very successful for him.
Now that the conversation will no longer have to be, and the Rams and Stafford have had a real chance of contemplating what life would look like in 2025. And everything with a silver lining on both sides which manipulated it in a way that was not disorderly or controversial, which sends a message to other players through the league with the type of organization.
So they advance. Unlike Aaron Rodgers, Stafford will never have to wonder what could have happened if he had found one way to remove it one more year. This time, the inherited bet was put aside, and 2025 will become a study of what the stay looks like, rather than wading in an unknown that could be well, much worse than anyone who imagined it.
