The Los Angeles Rams are entering what is projected to be a busy offseason for the team. Not only is Cooper Kupp officially on the trade market, but rumors about QB Matthew Stafford being on the move are making the rounds aplenty.
With the roster split into two sections of very young and very old, it will be interesting to see how the Rams proceed with their moves. However, one analyst believes they need to embrace the youth movement and replace Stafford with a premium free agent quarterback available.
Los Angeles Rams Predicted To Get Way Younger at QB
A slow start to the year paved the way for a strong second half where the Rams charged into the playoffs, where they gave the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, their closest game of the entire postseason.
During the year, Stafford was his usual self, tallying 3,762 yards and 20 touchdowns. However, his play in the absence of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua wasn’t ideal, leading to a QB+ score of 71.9, good for 22nd in the league.
With age not on his side, Aaron Schatz believes it might be smart for Los Angeles to move on from him. “Stafford has still got it. He ranked sixth in QBR two years ago and 12th last season,” Schatz said, acknowledging his talent; though Schatz also noted the writing on the wall.
“He’s also 37 years old with a gigantic salary cap number of nearly $50 million in 2025. There has been a lot of scuttlebutt from the NFL rumor mill about the Rams moving on from him. It fits the old adage that it is better to move on from a player a year too early than a year too late.”
As a result, he believes swapping Stafford with Sam Darnold is their best course of action. The 10th-best player available in free agency, according to PFSN’s Top 100 NFL Free Agent Rankings, Darnold is coming off a season that can best be described as a career renaissance.
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Long seen as the laughingstock of the league, Darnold went to Minnesota, and under the tutelage of Coach of the Year-winner Kevin O’Connell, he had an MVP-caliber season, finishing with the fifth-most passing yards and touchdowns in the league.
He also finished 12th in QB+, 10 spots higher than Stafford. With youth on his side, the deal might make sense for the Rams to pull off. However, the simple question for the Rams is about trust.
After six seasons of mediocre to atrocious play, trusting the productivity from just one season is hard to digest. However, Schatz has the answer to that dilemma as well.
“We know from his play in Minnesota under Kevin O’Connell that he can thrive in a Sean McVay-influenced offensive scheme. So why not bring him into a system run by the actual Sean McVay?”
The asking price for Darnold would be far cheaper than bringing back Stafford and even potentially extending him. With multiple teams like the New York Giants in need of and potentially willing to enter business with Stafford, the Rams could get a decent return for him to build out the rest of the roster on the fly.