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Report: Matthew Stafford will return to the Rams

Report: Matthew Stafford will return to the Rams

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By: Zach Thompson

After exploring other options on the trade market, Matthew Stafford will return to the Rams on a re-structured deal, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Stafford was given permission earlier this offseason to talk to other teams about trade possibilities and took meetings with the Raiders and Giants. After those discussions, though, he decided to take less money and stay with the Rams.

Last year, Stafford led the Rams to the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs, where they fell just short against the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles in the snow in Philadelphia. He led the team to a win over the Vikings in the Wild Card round in a game that was moved to Arizona due to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

Stafford finished the season with 3,762 passing yards and 20 touchdowns in 16 games while throwing just eight interceptions. It was his fourth season with the Rams after joining them in 2021 in a trade from the Lions and leading them to the championship that season, defeating the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. In that season, he became the first player in NFL history to pass for at least 6,000 yards and 50 touchdowns cobined in the regular season and postseason and lead the team to a Super Bowl victory in the same season.

The Rams’ defense was vastly improved in 2024, and the young defensive core will look to continue to improve next year. After reaching this deal, Stafford will try to lead Sean McVay’s offense to a second straight NFC West title.

Stafford’s return should keep the status quo to some degree for the Rams’ passing game, although Cooper Kupp’s expected departure will give more room for other options to step up next to Puka Nacua. Given how heavily Stafford relied on Nacua last year, Nacua will be one of the best fantasy receivers coming into 2025.

Zach Thompson
Zach has been part of the DraftKings team since 2017 and covers baseball, basketball, golf, football and any other sport that offers DFS fun. He has been playing fantasy sports since box scores were only available in the newspaper the following day. Even though he grew up almost 8,000 miles away in Guam, he is a diehard Boston sports fan but will take a fantasy value play wherever he can get it, even if it’s from the Yankees.
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