Matthew Stafford piloted the Los Angeles Rams to a surprising division title this year, returning from the depths of a 1-4 record to stun the league and steal the NFC West crown with a 10-7 finish.
At 36 years old (37 in February), Stafford is nearing the end of his career and has reportedly been mulling retirement for a while. And the latest comments from his wife, Kelly Stafford, will only add fuel to the speculative fire.
Matthew Stafford Might Be Ready for ‘Next Chapter’
Speaking about the Rams’ playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round of the playoffs on her podcast, “The Morning After,” Kelly talked about her husband’s recent comments that suggested he may be ready to call it a career.
“Family’s a lot to him, and I do believe that there is part of him that is ready because of the fact that the girls are getting involved in things, and he does not want to miss out on that,” Kelly said.
“And he’s given his life to football. And eventually this is going to happen no matter what. If it’s not this year, it could be the next year. And I think he had a great season, if he wants to go out on that, ‘cause that’s a fu***** proud way to go out. When you take your team from 1-4 to where they were, that is something to be extremely proud of.
“So, if he wants to be done, I’m going to fully support it. I’m going to be excited about it. I’m going to be excited that there’s a next chapter in our lives that we’re going to begin.”
After the team’s playoff loss, the Rams quarterback wouldn’t give a definitive answer regarding his future.
“I’ll talk about my present,” Stafford said after the game. “Obviously, proud to be associated with this group, coaching staff, front office, group of players, training staff, equipment guys, and everybody. It was a hell of an effort all year to get to this point.”
Stafford currently has two years remaining on his current contract. It’s possible that he decides to continue playing, though that may not be in Los Angeles.
In order to move on from him in 2025, the Rams would have to incur a $49 million dead cap hit. However, there would be no other penalties associated with the two parties moving on from each other.
Should Stafford Hang Up His Cleats?
In the Wild Card round, the Rams handily took care of the Minnesota Vikings, with Stafford delivering a vintage performance: 209 yards on just 19 completions, along with two touchdowns. It was more than enough for Los Angeles to dominate 27-9.
That performance came on the heels of a strong regular season. While Stafford’s counting stats weren’t spectacular, many of his rate stats showed improvement compared to 2023.
He increased his completion percentage from 62.6% in 2023 to 65.8% this season and improved his success rate from 47.6% to 49.0%. Additionally, he reduced his interception rate from 2.1% to 1.5%, the lowest of his career (excluding the 2010 season, when he played only three games).
Notably, the Rams’ signal-caller was finally healthy in 2024, marking the first season since 2021 that he didn’t miss a game due to injury. However, he did sit out the team’s Week 18 contest this season as a coach’s decision.
However, though Stafford’s production was solid overall, some indicators suggest he may be in decline. PFN’s QB+ metric graded him at 71.9 (C-), ranking 22nd among quarterbacks this season. This was his second-lowest score since the metric’s inception in 2019, trailing only his injury-shortened 2022 season (64.6). Since leading the NFL in QB+ in 2021, Stafford has not finished inside the top 10 in the metric.
Matthew Stafford QB+ By Season with Rams
2021: 93.4 (A), 1st
2022: 64.6 (D), 26th
2023: 79.4 (C+), 14th
2024: 71.9 (C-), 22nd
Plenty of quarterbacks in recent years have continued to play well into their late 30s and 40s. Nevertheless, those cases are rare, and Stafford’s lengthy injury history may have him thinking twice about suiting up again for the 2025 season.
If he does retire or asks to be released, the Rams will be forced to look elsewhere at the QB position this offseason, as backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is set to hit free agency following the Super Bowl.
