Rams offseason gamble with Stafford is paying off

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 70.7% of his passes while throwing for 375 and three touchdowns in the team’s victory over the Indianapolis Colts Sunday. This continued high level of play by the veteran quarterback is reinforcing the idea that Les Snead and the Los Angeles front office not only made the right decision in resigning Stafford through 2026, but also in standing their ground on the number they were willing to pay their Super Bowl winning captain.

At the peak of the “turmoil” Stafford was taking meetings with other teams to figure out a number for a new contract, with deals rumored to be over $100 million. It was tough to consider moving on from a top-10 quarterback, especially with a roster believed to be Super Bowl ready, but by holding firm on a price, knowing in the end a 37-year-old Stafford probably did not want to start over at this stage of his career, Los Angeles was able to resign their QB for under market while keeping continuity and leadership within their locker room.

So how good has Stafford been through 4 games?

Know for being a gunslinger, Stafford has played some incredible efficient football in 2025. Through four games, he is completing just under 68% of his passes for eight touchdowns and only two interceptions. Stafford also has 1,114 passing yards and has had a QB rating over 105.4 in all but one game this season.

For some perspective, Stafford has the 18th ranked contract in total value for quarterbacks and 20th for fully guaranteed money according to OverTheCap.com. He is also the 16th ranked QB in average money per year, behind the likes of Kyler Murray, Trevor Lawrence, Deshaun Watson and Atlanta Falcons backup Kirk Cousins, just to name a few.

So what’s the Rams return on that price tag?

As of Sunday night, Stafford leads the NFL in passing yards, is tied for third in passing touchdowns with eight and has the most 20+ yard pass completions in the league with 17, according to NFL.com. Stafford is top-10 in almost every major QB statistical category in 2025 and has show absolutely no regression in arm strength despite his age and back issues that kept him out all of training camp.

Stafford’s cannon was on display again when he hit WR Tutu Atwell for what would be a game winning 88-yard touchdown vs the Colts. Head coach Sean McVay spoke about the play after the game:

“I thought it was awesome. Got [Atwell] into man coverage right there, he’s running kind of a high-angle cut, what a job by Matthew to be able to find him and deliver a great ball. Tutu runs a great route and then he’s obviously got the gas to be able to finish, so can’t say enough about him. You just never know when your number’s gonna be called and he’s just kind of stayed ready.”

Stafford’s ability to be clutch in crucial moments is just another trait the Rams gained in resigning their veteran. He was able to deliver the deep pass to Atwell with less than two minutes left in a tie game. Even in the Rams lost last week to the Philadelphia Eagles, Stafford got the team into game-winning field goal range before it was blocked. We all know what he did against the Bucs in the 2021 NFC divisional playoff game and the final offensive drive of Super Bowl LVI too.

In the end, I think the Rams could not be happier with what they’ve gotten out of Stafford, especially for the price at which they are getting it for. However, in the end the move still looks to be a win-win for both sides. Stafford maybe could have made a bit more somewhere else, but he has been able to keep his family in California while continuing to play for the league’s premier offensive coach, throwing to arguably the MVP of the league so far in Puka Nacua and All-Pro Davante Adams on a top-10 roster in the NFL.

Do you think the Rams handled Stafford’s contact situation correctly? And how do you think LA should handle next season if Stafford makes another deep playoff run? Comment below and let us know!