Not long after the Los Angeles Rams' nail-biting loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round, quarterback Matthew Stafford was somewhat coy about his playing future.
"Sure feels like it," the veteran signal-caller responded at the time when asked if he had football left in him.
Indeed, Stafford plans to continue playing, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday.
However, the question remains where the 36-year-old will play his 17th NFL season.
Stafford revised his contract with the Rams ahead of last season -- in a rather lengthy process -- and will now carry a $49.6 million cap number into the 2025 campaign. L.A. can save $27 million by trading him in a post-June 1 move, and $23 million as a post-June 1 cut, per Over The Cap.
Head coach Sean McVay is on the record that he'd love to get the situation resolved "sooner than later."
Knowledge that Stafford definitely intends to play in the forthcoming season is, at the least, a first step toward getting plans figured out.
Rams general manager Les Snead and McVay have no immediate plan to replace Stafford.
Backup Jimmy Garoppolo is an impending unrestricted free agent and third-stringer Stetson Bennett has yet to play in a regular-season game after he was drafted in 2023.
Stafford's arm talent remains elite, but he was mercurial in his play in 2024.
He finished with 3,762 passing yards (269.4 per game), 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions through 16 regular-season tilts. Stafford was marvelous in the postseason, however. In a wild-card win over the Minnesota Vikings, he threw for 209 yards, two TDs and zero picks. He followed that up by throwing for 324 yards, two more TDs and once again no INTs in L.A.'s loss to the Eagles.
His play indicates he's got plenty left in the tank, and he intends to show it.
