A Super Bowl champion quarterback came close to playing for a new team for the 2023 season. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday, former NFL general Manger Michael Lombardi said the Los Angeles Rams attempted to trade Matthew Stafford before his option bonus kicked in.
“When his option bonus was getting ready to kick in, they attempted with a lot of effort to trade him,” Lombardi said, per The Spun. “Any team could’ve had him. The problem was you had to absorb the $59 million.” Lombardi went on to say that head coach Sean McVay is great, but the Rams are going to have issues defensively since there’s not a lot of talent on that side of the football other than Aaron Donald.
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In March 2022, Stafford signed a four-year, $160 million contract extension with the Rams. According to Spotrac, the option bonus and the 2024 salary kicked in on March 17, and he will get another $10 million during the third league day in 2024. Stafford is signed through the 2026 season but there is a potential out for the Rams once the 2025 season ends.
Stafford was traded to the Rams in 2021 after spending 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions. In his first season in Los Angeles, Stafford threw for 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns while leading the team to a championship. Last year, Stafford only played nine games due to a spinal cord contusion.
Following the 2022 season, Stafford shut down rumors of him possibly retiring from the NFL. “Feel the same way,” Stafford said, per the team’s official website back in January. “I’m heading into the offseason, got a chance to be pretty darn healthy and continue to try to get to feeling as good as I can feel, and then get ready to go again next year.”
Stafford went on to say that it will be good to be healthy heading into the offseason workouts. “I had obviously the thumb a couple years ago, and then elbow stuff that I wasn’t able to really participate in a whole lot of stuff when it comes to throwing the football for a long time,” Stafford said. “So to be able to do that at a way more regular pace, which is exciting for me as a player, that’s what I want to do. I want to be out there.”
