As the conclusion of the NFL winter eases into the madness of its spring, it is perhaps instructive to remind Los Angeles exactly where one of their local teams finished.
The Rams were 13 yards from winning the Super Bowl.
For real. Listen up.
In the NFC divisional round, trailing by six points, the Rams drove to the Philadelphia Eagles’ 13-yard line in the final seconds before the Eagles defense stiffened.
It was close. It was real close. The Rams could have won. The Rams thought they were going to win. And if they did win?
They wouldn’t have lost again.
Who could argue against them defeating a young Washington Commanders team the following week at SoFi Stadium? And then they certainly could have stolen the Super Bowl from the flailing Kansas City Chiefs.
Yes, the Rams finished a mere 13 yards from a ring, which makes only one thing more outlandish.
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The idea that they would trade the guy who put them there.
They’re not really thinking about getting rid of Matthew Stafford, are they?
Les Snead, you’ve been daring and smart and wildly successful and ... enough. This is too crazy even for you.
Sean McVay, you’re brilliant and creative and eagerly bold and … enough. This wouldn’t work even for you.
Don’t get it twisted, the Rams don’t want to trade Stafford, who is one of only three active and currently employed Super Bowl-champion starting quarterbacks.
And don’t be fooled, Stafford would like to remain with the Rams, who are deep and talented and maybe one burner wide receiver and a shut-down cornerback from winning a second title in five years.
The two parties like each other. But they differ on the value of that friendship, and that is where the seeds of divorce have been planted.
Stafford is not among the league’s 15 highest-paid quarterbacks. With an average annual salary of around $40 million a year, he makes less than the likes of Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailoa and Deshaun Watson. Heck, he even makes less than the guy he successfully replaced, Jared Goff.
He wants more money. He briefly delayed his appearance at training camp last year until the Rams adjusted his contract, but he wants more, and it’s hard to blame him.
The Rams, who want this thing settled before a repeat of last summer’s suspense, are willing to give him more money. But how much more? And for how long?
Stafford is 37 years old in a league in which virtually every quarterback not named Tom Brady begins a steep decline in their late 30s. He’s still a safe bet for another year or so, but Stafford may want more job security, a longer deal, and if so, he’ll probably have to find that elsewhere.
This leaves the Rams with a choice. Do they keep an aging hero who struggled at the end of the regular season but was brilliant in the playoffs and always has been brilliant in the playoffs for them? Or do they take advantage of the draft-pick prizes they can acquire for him now before he starts his inevitable slowing and replace him with somebody, or maybe even with a certain ring-bearing free agent?
Yeah, we’re talking Aaron Rodgers.
Given the Rams’ propensity for the shocking transaction — remember, this is the team that once traded six draft picks for the right to draft Goff — it would be wholly unsurprising if they dumped Stafford for McVay-favorite Rodgers.
It also would be so, so wrong.
The Rams aren’t a team, they’re a culture, and their consistent success has relied on players who meld into that culture. The selfless Stafford is the perfect fit. He made a star out of Cooper Kupp and then, when Kupp’s body finally broke down, he made a star out of Puka Nacua. Stafford consistently has labored behind an inconsistent offensive line, yet he never complains.
He passed for but one touchdown, with one interception, in his final three regular-season games this winter, yet he starred in the playoffs — with four touchdown passes, no picks and just 13 yards from a potential championship.
In fact, he’s always starred in the playoffs, a 102.3 passer rating with 19 touchdown passes and six interceptions in 10 postseason appearances.
“The coolest thing you can say about Matthew is he shines the brightest on the biggest stages,” McVay told reporters after the season. “When you look at the seven playoff games that he’s played in since he’s been a Ram, he certainly gives you a chance every time you step out on the field and for that I’m sure appreciative.”
But how appreciative? We’ll soon find out.
It’s hard to find a quarterback like Stafford, and would be even harder to replace him, and don’t even start again with that Rodgers nonsense.
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Yes, Odell Beckham Jr. was once able to put his ego aside and fit with McVay’s program, but with Rodgers we’re talking a much larger sense of entitlement.
The Rams don’t do distractions. The Rams don’t do selfishness. The Rams wouldn’t work for Rodgers.
And don’t try to sell your growing fan base on taking a step back with the likes of available Sam Darnold or in-house option Jimmy Garoppolo.
The Rams have the defense to win now. They are intent on acquiring the skill players to win now. But none of that matters without a quarterback who can win now, and they have that, right in their building, a future Hall of Famer, and why would they give that up?
Judging from comments from Snead and McVay in their postseason meeting with reporters last month, anything is possible. Listen to Rams officials enough and you learn to read between the lines, and in that space there is always the possibility of shock.
Asked if he thought Stafford would be playing for the Rams next season if he doesn’t retire, Snead said, “He’s still a Ram.”
Asked virtually the same question, McVay said, “We’ll talk about all those things at the appropriate time.”
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Weren’t they saying the same sorts of things just before they dumped Goff for Stafford?
As for Stafford, at his most recent news conference he made it clear he doesn’t feel his best days are behind him.
“As far as my future goes … I feel like I was playing some pretty good ball,” he told reporters after the playoff loss in Philadelphia.
Asked whether he had any football left in him, he said, “Sure feels like it.”
Sure feels like that shouldn’t happen anywhere but here.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
