The Los Angeles Rams are now four years removed from their last Super Bowl victory, and after back-to-back 10-7 seasons in which they qualified for the playoffs both times they appear ready to give it one more shot behind future Hall of Fame quarterback Matthew Stafford. At age 37, Stafford in January announced that he had decided against retirement and would return for a fifth season with the Rams, possibly to cap off what would be his 17-year career.
Rams coach Sean McVay had publicly expressed excitement at getting Stafford back, and has even said that he would include the 2009 No. 1 overall draft pick out of Georgia in discussions about the team’s offseason moves. At the same time, however, it appears unlikely that Los Angeles can take Stafford back under the current terms of his contract, which is set to pay him almost $50 million over the next two seasons.
His contract will almost certainly need to be restructured — for the second year in a row. In the earlier negotiation, Stafford was reportedly seeking guaranteed future money. But that did not happen. The Rams, it became clear, saw Stafford as a player they would evaluate on a year-to-year basis.
Rams Must Prepare For Life After Stafford
What all of that adds up to is that even if they play 2025 with Stafford under center, the Rams will be in the market for a quarterback to take over for the veteran sooner rather than later — and possibly as soon as this offseason if they fail to reach a restructured deal and are forced to cut or trade Stafford who has passed for more yards (59,809) than any active quarterback except Aaron Rodgers. His 377 career touchdowns rank him 10th on the all-time list, and again, second to Rodgers among active quarterbacks.
They can find one, according to ESPN’s Aaron Schatz, in New England. The Patriots appear set at the quarterback spot with their No. 3 overall draft pick from 2024, Drake Maye. But they have another promising young QB who they picked in the sixth round last year, and in what Schatz called a “bold prediction” for the offseason, they could turn that quarterback, the athletically gifted Joe Milton III, into a higher-round pick — especially given that quarterback talent coming out of college this year is considered sparse.
Milton has three years remaining on his rookie contract, which totaled $4.2 million.
“There could be interest around the league in Milton because of the overall weakness of this year’s quarterback draft class. The rookie showed promise in Week 18 against the Bills’ backups with a 72.4 QBR,” Schatz wrote. “If New England can turn three more years of a sixth-round pick into four more years of a third- or fourth-round pick, that’s usually going to be a win for a roster.”
McVay an Ideal Coach For Milton’s Development
According to a prediction by Justin Melo of The Draft Network, the Rams would be an ideal landing spot for “Bazooka Joe,” who has been filmed throwing a football 80 yards in the air, and who in Week 18 tossed the second-fastest recorded pass in NFL history, nearly 62 mph.
“General manager Les Snead and McVay must start preparing for life post-Stafford,” Melo wrote. “McVay once rehabilitated Baker Mayfield before he began impressing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s the ideal coach to develop or rebuild a quarterback. Milton couldn’t ask for a better landing spot.”
What could the Patriots receive in return for Milton, the MVP of the Tennessee Volunteers’ 2023 Orange Bowl victory over Clemson?
After their first-round pick at No. 26, the Rams own a pair of third-rounders, 90th and 100th overall. Either of those, or even their fourth-rounder at No. 126 may be enough to entice the Patriots into parting with Milton, who was taken with the 193rd pick last year.