The weird vibe between the Rams and quarterback Matthew Stafford is about to get weirder.
Appearing Friday on Rich Eisen's show, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media said the Rams have given Stafford's agent permission to speak to other teams.
It's an example of how what otherwise would be tampering can be useful. Usually, a team wants the player to decide on whether to take the best offer without knowing what's behind Door No. 2. Here, the Rams are encouraging Stafford to pry it open.
The obvious goal is to give Stafford a chance to determine his value elsewhere. The deeper purpose could be to lay the foundation for a trade.
The problem is that Stafford's new team would have to strike the balance between paying Stafford and giving the Rams a sufficient trade haul. The more the Rams want, the lower the financial offer to Stafford would be.
That dynamic will make it harder for Stafford's camp to get a clear indication as to what his market value would be. Because, unless he's cut (and he likely won't be), he won't be in position to take a market deal.
On one hand, the team's willingness to let him speak to other teams suggests that the Rams have confidence Stafford will realize that his best option is to stay. On the other hand, the fact that it's come to this contributes to the sense, which has been lingering for two years, that the Rams are looking for a graceful exit ramp.
Part of that strategy includes having a clear plan to replace Stafford. Going older and currently not as talented by swapping Stafford for Aaron Rodgers could spark a step back for 2025. If, however, Rodgers is willing to do a cheap deal in order to land with a contender, the Rams could end up being ahead of the game, on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
