It was 16 years ago that Matthew Stafford was drafted first overall, just months after turning 21 years old. Now, he’s two weeks shy of turning 37 and was the second-oldest starting quarterback in the 2024 NFL season, trailing only the 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers.
With 16 years under his belt, and coming off a painful postseason exit at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Divisional Round, Stafford is contemplating his future not only with the Los Angeles Rams but with the National Football League as a whole.
Shortly after the Rams’ season came to an end, the inevitable questions on possibly retiring were pitched to Stafford, and the veteran quarterback was noncommittal.
A follow-up then asked if he had football left in him, to which Stafford replied, “Sure feels like it.”
His performance in the playoffs certainly backs up his claim as Stafford was the biggest reason the Rams were a fourth-quarter touchdown drive away from going to the NFC Championship Game. He had a season-high of 324 passing yards against the Eagles, with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. That came a week after he also had two touchdowns and no picks in a Wild Card victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
However, Stafford also took a pounding in the loss to Philadelphia, which undoubtedly has a role in him considering if he wants to put himself through that kind of beating again next season. Stafford was sacked a season-high-tying five times by the Eagles, which is also the most times he’s been taken down in his entire postseason career.
One of those sacks—by fellow Georgia Bulldog Nolan Smith—resulted in a fumble by Stafford, which the Eagles then converted into a field goal. It was Stafford’s first turnover since Week 16, having played his best down the stretch of the season as the Rams made their playoff push after beginning the year 1-4. They dealt with injuries to star receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, then Los Angeles, as a whole, had to contend with the Southern California wildfires.
Stafford’s leadership and consistency were huge reasons the Rams were one of the final four teams in the NFC, and his head coach spoke glowingly about what the quarterback accomplished.
“He represents so many things that are right about what this team became, especially for a city that’s hurting and going through some different stuff,” said Rams coach Sean McVay. “I think he epitomizes a lot of the stuff that’s right in terms of toughness, resilience, the ability to overcome adversity. He’s a total freaking stud, and I thought he was outstanding tonight.”
The Rams restructured Stafford’s contract before the season, so he has two years left on his deal. He’s coming off one of the best seasons of his career despite his age, with 3,762 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His touchdown-to-interception ratio was his best since joining the Rams in 2021, and he produced five game-winning drives in the regular season, which was second only to Patrick Mahomes’s seven.
The Rams exceeded expectations as they entered the season with an average age of 25.45, which was the second-youngest to the Green Bay Packers. Winning nine of its last 11 regular-season games with Stafford under center showed the potential of Los Angeles, and its young players will only get better.
The longtime Lion also has individual incentives to want to return in 2025 as he’s climbing up the all-time ranks in a couple of major statistics. If Stafford passes for 3,632 yards next season, he’d surpass Dan Marino, Matt Ryan, Philip Rivers, and possibly Rodgers on the all-time passing yards list and could sit in sixth place by the end of the year. Also, he’s 23 passing touchdowns away from becoming the ninth player ever to reach 400 passing touchdowns for a career.
However, Stafford has always been known as a gunslinger, and playing another season may allow him to make a dubious kind of NFL history. He’s thrown 30 pick-sixes in his career, and throwing three more would surpass Brett Favre for the most pick-sixes in league history.
