Deal Complete: Rams Star QBMatthew Stafford Signed A New, Long-Term Contract With The Los Angeles Rams

The Los Angeles Rams saw one of the best players in NFL history retire on Friday when defensive tackle Aaron Donald called it a career after ten seasons and could Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford follow him?

Of course, many Rams fans are sad about the news that the best player in franchise history called it a career with so much left in the tank, and did Matthew Stafford’s wife, Kelly, hint at when her husband will retire?

The Los Angeles Rams saw one of the best players in NFL history retire on Friday when defensive tackle Aaron Donald called it a career after ten seasons and could Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford follow him?

Of course, many Rams fans are sad about the news that the best player in franchise history called it a career with so much left in the tank, and did Matthew Stafford’s wife, Kelly, hint at when her husband will retire?

I Think Stafford Has A Few More Years Left In Him

I hope that all Rams fans will know that she is just joking that she will get Matthew to retire with Donald. I’m sure if Stafford was going to retire, he would’ve already called it quits by now so the Rams could find their backup plan.

The Rams signed Jimmy Garoppolo on Friday as Stafford’s backup, and Stafford has a few more years left in him. 

Stafford just turned 36 years old last month and had an excellent 2023 campaign after a very injury-plagued 2022 season, during which he only played in nine games.

If there were a time for Stafford to retire, it would’ve been after 2022 when he was hurt, but he had a new life in 2023 and looked very good throwing the ball to veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp and rookie Puka Nacua.

I’m sure Kelly Stafford was messing around, and it does stink that the Rams lost a legend on Friday. Hopefully, another one won’t walk out the door soon.

The Los Angeles Rams are hoping to preserve as much of their 2023 offensive line as possible. The unit had a resurgence in 2023 behind rookie Steve Avila, center Coleman Shelton and left tackle Alaric Jackson, among others. Joseph Noteboom was also an instrumental figure, despite not being one of the five regular starters.

Noteboom was a full-time starter on the Rams offensive line in 2019 and 2020, but injuries derailed him after his third NFL season and the Rams chose to utilize him as a backup instead. By 2023, he had carved out a role as the offensive line’s sixth man. He started in eight games and appeared in 14 thanks to his ability to play both tackle and guard.

But he was still being paid starter money, and he had a $20 million cap hit in 2024. The Rams knew they were not going to be able to pay a sixth man that type of money, so the only way he was going to stick around was if he accepted a pay cut and a restructure.

That deal was reportedly agreed to earlier this week, with the Rams being able to lower his cap hit by increasing guarantees, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic: