LOS ANGELES — More than three hours late for his scheduled media availability at the start of training camp here at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay had a good reason for his tardiness.
He was working behind the scenes to make quarterback Matthew Stafford happy, which in turn helps a team that NFL observers expect to compete for another postseason berth.
When he finally emerged, McVay confirmed that Rams brass had worked with Stafford's agent, Jimmy Sexton, and the two sides came to an agreement on a contract adjustment for the 36-year-old signal-caller.
Stafford has three years remaining on a four-year, $160 million contract, none of which is guaranteed beyond this season. Stafford's $40 million average annual salary ranks No. 14 in the league.
Stafford's desire to sweeten his contract makes sense. After all, the guy he replaced in L.A., Detroit QB Jared Goff , recently received a four-year, $212 million deal that makes him the third-highest paid quarterback in the league at $53 million annually.
According to reports, Stafford wanted more guaranteed money added to his deal. McVay, however, declined to specifically address details of the new agreement.
The Rams had some urgency to get something done with Stafford. Backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will miss the first two games of the season due to an NFL suspension for violating the league's drug policy, and second-year pro Stetson Bennett spent all of last season on the non-football injury list working on his mental health.
"We were able to have an understanding of what was important," McVay said. "We were able to articulate both perspectives, and I think the most important thing was coming to a solution and finding common ground.
"We were able to do that, and that was the goal. I do want to be careful in getting into too many of the particulars. What I am grateful for is that we were able to solve whatever that issue was. And now here we are, and I'm excited to be able to talk about football."
Stafford's impressive play during the second half of 2023 helped Los Angeles finish 7-1 down the stretch. Overall, the Rams went 10-7 and reached the postseason after a nose-pinching 5-12 campaign coming off a Super Bowl victory after the 2021 season.
According to Next Gen Stats, Stafford was pressured on just 26.8% of his dropbacks from Week 11 to the end of the regular season, third-lowest in the league. For the season, the Rams allowed the sixth-fewest sacks (34) and ranked seventh in pressures allowed (213). The Georgia product's 5.4% sack rate was his lowest since 2011.
During that stretch from Week 11 until the end of the regular season, Stafford completed 160 of 243 passes (65.8%) for 1,895 yards, with 16 touchdowns and just four interceptions. For the season, Stafford threw for 3.965 yards even though he missed two games with a sprained ligament in his right thumb.
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams .
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