Los Angeles Rams star quarterback Matthew Stafford faces an uncertain future.
While Stafford is still playing at a high level, there’s no guarantee he’ll return to the franchise where he won a Super Bowl next season.
Although he doesn’t know where he’ll play in 2025, the 16-year veteran says he’s only worried about the things that he can control.
”The biggest thing is taking care of the things that I can take care of,” Stafford said in an exclusive interview with The Sports Daily. “Controlling those things and not worrying too much about the other stuff, obviously. Like every team in the NFL, there’s going to be turnover. There’s going to be new teammates, new players, new coaches on the coaching staff. And different scenarios can arise at any given moment in the NFL.
“We see it every single offseason,” Stafford continues to say. “I just try to prepare myself to be the best version of myself and let the chips fall where they may.”
The 37-year-old quarterback isn’t the only key player facing an uncertain NFL future. That would be because star wide receiver Cooper Kupp is likely to land with a new NFL team in the offseason after announcing that the Rams are seeking to trade him.
The departures of Kupp and Stafford — key members of the 2021 Super Bowl team — could lead to a major overhaul of a franchise coming off of a solid season that saw them win the NFC West and finish with a 10-7 record.
Kupp became the fourth player since the NFL-AFL merger to lead the NFL in all three major receiving categories during the 2021 season. He was also named the Offensive Player of the Year after posting 145 receptions, 1,947 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. His receptions and receiving yards are the second-most in a single season in NFL history.
Stafford says he recently spent time with Kupp, mentioning the Super Bowl MVP receiver came over to his house for dinner recently. However, he says the Rams’ decision didn’t catch him “off guard,” saying “anything can happen.”
“As far as catching me off guard, I don’t know that anything does these days,” says Stafford. “Cooper and I are smart enough and veteran enough guys to know that anything can happen. Obviously, he’s a guy that I spent more time with in my career really in the last four or five years, more than any other team that I’ve ever had. I’ll miss him big time being a part of our team.”
Stafford: Loss of Cooper Kupp Will Be Felt Throughout Franchise
Stafford mentions the importance that Kupp has had to the franchise since his arrival back in 2017.
”I know the guys in the locker room will miss him,” says Stafford of Kupp. “I know our fan base will miss him. He’s meant so much to really everybody in this community, all the guys on our team. I can’t say enough good things about Cooper Kupp and the person that he is, the family that he has, both on and off the field. He’s been a real treat to be around.”
The veteran quarterback says he actually found out while at the Rams’ facility and ran into Kupp shortly after the decision.
”I was actually over at the facility and ran into him kind of soon after that happened,” says Stafford. “I was able to catch up with him right there, and then I talked to him a little bit later. We had some dinner together and hung out and talked a little bit. It’s a tough situation. It’s the NFL, we understand that, but he’s been a pillar on this team, a pillar in this community for a long time. I know his presence in this locker room and in the community will be missed.”
When asked what the Rams need to do to get to the next level — they were eliminated in the divisional round this season and the wild card round last season — Stafford says it’s all about playing sound football in the “biggest moments.” Los Angeles came up short in the past two seasons in that department, losing each of their playoff games by one possession.
He also mentions that it’s a little bit too early to speak on that considering he doesn’t know what his future holds.
”For any team out there, it’s playing really good sound football in the biggest moments,” says Stafford. “That’s what it all boils down to. Can you just do your fundamentals and play sound football in those big moments? We were on track doing that this year and just came up a little bit short.”
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