LOS ANGELES -- While he's "been sleeping better" since Matthew Stafford agreed to an adjusted contract, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay said Monday that there was never a time he thought the quarterback wouldn't be on the roster in 2025.
"No," McVay said. "That was never something that I ever thought would occur."
The reworked contract came after the Rams gave Stafford's agent, Jimmy Sexton, permission to speak to other teams about his value in the quarterback market. Stafford, who signed an extension with the Rams in March 2022, had two seasons left on that deal.
"There was always going to have to be a decision on our part ... if he wasn't going to be here," McVay said. "And that was never something that felt like ever got close, and it was never something that I allowed my mind to go to."
McVay said negotiations were expected because when Stafford and the Rams "made the contract adjustment last year, there was always an understanding that he wouldn't play under the number that he was due this coming year."
"That was something that we always knew was coming down," McVay said. "And when he felt good with the way the season ended, and obviously we were all ecstatic about him wanting to continue to play and play at a high level. Now it's just figuring out the semantics of, all right, there's no way to put an actual value on what he means, but what does it look like to be able to fit it for the landscape of our football team, where we're at, knowing how many years you want to play, and what does that look like for the short and for the long term?
"And [I] think, fortunately, we were able to come to a compromise and a conclusion that everybody feels really good about, and I think it's a great reflection of him and our group."
McVay said he anticipates having these conversations again next year.
"Here's the positive: Last year it took about seven months," McVay joked. "This year, about three weeks. So maybe it'll be about two, three days next year if we have to do this."
The Rams have two quarterbacks on their roster for 2025: Stafford and 2023 fourth-round pick Stetson Bennett. McVay also said that he would love for Jimmy Garoppolo to return to back up Stafford but that the quarterback has "earned the right" to have interest from other teams.
Stafford, 37, is entering his 17th NFL season and fifth with the Rams. In 16 games last season, he completed 65.8% of his passes for 3,762 yards, with 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions.