ESPN REPORT: Why the Rams QB Matthew Stafford Suspend For 103 Games Including….

After Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions recently reached an agreement on a new contract extension, the Los Angeles Rams and Matthew Stafford may be trying to do something similar. Reports are that Stafford would like to alter his current deal in some way and there were stories that LA wanted to restructure Stafford’s deal last offseason but he rebuffed their request to take less.

So what exactly is Matthew Stafford looking for in a new contract, and does Stafford have any leverage to get a new deal done?

As far as what Stafford is looking for, the assumption is that Stafford wants to ensure he is getting top guaranteed money in one of the most important and highest paying positions in sports. Stafford and the Rams have kept the discussions internal for the most part, so much of this is speculation, but as they say: Where there’s smoke there is usually fire. For now, all that is really out there is that Stafford wants to alter his current deal. Can Stafford make the Rams alter the deal?

The easy answer seems “No.” Plain and simple.

Stafford signed his name on the dotted line. Could he holdout? Of course he could, but he may be taking more of a financial hit in doing so. If he is looking for more cash, then wouldn’t he try to make the most he can off of his current deal whether it is changed or not? That is a question for the starting QB himself, but he did talk about playing for more than just money during the Matthew Stafford: Locked In documentary when he discussed his legacy.

“I want a gold jacket, you know? And…I know what I gotta do to get there and that’s win Super Bowls.”

Is Stafford a Hall of Famer? Debatable, but regardless he was talking about wanting to win more than one Super Bowl, and to do that he would need to keep playing.

The Jared Goff/Matthew Stafford trade might have been the most equal trade in NFL history #OnePride #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/XI6DH8Xpk8 If LA and Stafford are looking at reworking their deal in any way, then big two questions come to mind. How much money is Stafford looking for, and how much longer does Stafford want to be playing in the NFL? Stafford also talked about his longevity in that same documentary mentioned above when he said:

“How long can I continue to play at a high level? How long can I be healthy?”

By all accounts it seems like Stafford wants to keep playing, and the Rams very well can give Stafford more cash, but they already did that after he won the Super Bowl a few years ago. Has Stafford shown enough that he deserves more money or that he should have the rest of his contract guarenteed? Do the Rams need to make that type of commitment?

Those are the questions that Les Snead, Sean McVay, Kevin Demoff and more are working through. They are the type of questions that Stafford’s own family and team are trying to figure out. There is not a right or wrong answer about reworking Stafford’s deal. The questions are: Does that alteration to the deal happen? And what does that alteration look like?

It seems like to some extent all of us, including Stafford, are along for the ride. And until something changes, the football world will be watching this story with great interest.