Matthew Stafford plans to lead the Los Angeles Rams as their starting quarterback again next season. Stafford still has three years left on his contract but many have wondered when he might decide to retire from football. That won’t be happening this offseason, it seems.
After Sunday’s loss to the Lions in the wild-card round, Stafford confirmed he expects to be back next season, putting to rest any talk of retirement.
“That’s my plan. My plan is to be back and you’re going to have to deal with me for another year, so have fun with that,” he said.
Sean McVay alluded to Stafford returning in his postgame press conference, telling reporters that “he was one of the main catalysts for what was right about this football team.”
“And I know he’ll be excited about coming back next year, as well,” he said.
"We would've never been in this situation without Matthew Stafford's leadership, his guidance, his resilience." pic.twitter.com/CaOZQOshJ6
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 15, 2024
Stafford will be 36 on Feb. 7, but he’s playing as well as he ever has. This season, he threw for 3,965 yards in 15 games and had 24 touchdown passes to 11 interceptions. He capped it off in the playoffs with 367 yards and two touchdowns, the most yards he had in a game all year.
The Rams should be in contention again next year after an offseason where they have ample cap space and a first-round pick – and a quarterback who’s still one of the best in football.