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Although the trade market was hot for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford during the offseason, the team was in “unanimous agreement” to keep him for at least one more season, head coach Sean McVay confirmed this week.
“There was a consistent and unanimous dialogue and understanding,” McVay said after the team went through its first training camp practice at UC Irvine, per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk.
“When that March deadline came in terms of him being due the bonus that he's deserved and that he's earned, we were all in unanimous agreement that we wanted him to be the quarterback. I know I can certainly speak for all of us and say we're excited as h**l about Matthew Stafford. It's been great to see him feeling good, and I'm certainly really glad he's our quarterback, and that's where we're at.”
Stafford signed a four-year, $160 million contract extension to remain in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future in 2022. He refused to divulge any conversations that were had between the Rams and his agent regarding a possible restructuring or renegotiation of his contract.
“I don't know what the technical term of it is,” Stafford said, per Youngmisuk. “But we had conversations on that kind of stuff and I'll leave it at that.”
The 35-year-old led the Rams to a Super Bowl championship in 2021, but was unavailable for the team's final seven games last year after suffering a spinal cord contusion.
The squad finished with an abysmal 5-12 record, mainly due to injuries to star wide receiver Cooper Kupp and defensive tackle Aaron Donald. All three players were back at practice on Wednesday as the team looks to bounce back and return to a playoff spot in 2023.
“I feel a lot better. Physically, I feel really healthy compared to where I was at this point last year, so that's fun for me,” Stafford explained. “I was able to get the work in that I want to get in coming into this. And that makes it a whole lot more fun for me and just excited to be out here.”
With Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald all expected to be healthy for Week 1, the goal in LA is that the Rams can get back to competing for Super Bowls after a down year in 2022.
