Matthew Stafford’s lingering back injury should push Rams to roll the dice on a contingency plan regardless of Stafford’s recovery
If the Rams needed to endure life without Matthew Stafford into the season, what’s their best course of action?
The Matthew Stafford situation with the Los Angeles Rams has lingered just a little too long to blow off as a whole bunch of nothing. Stafford, who is dealing with an aggravated disk in his back, has yet to make his return to the practice field. That should have everyone around the team feeling just a little bit uneasy. The good news, if there is any, is that the Rams expect Stafford to work out again tomorrow — with the hope being that his body responds better to a new stress opportunity than his last one.
If he does, the Rams will be able to press onward this month with a full follow-through on their intention that Stafford will indeed be ready by the start of the regular season. But if Stafford’s body pushes back once again, it will be hard to ignore. Stafford, who is 37 years old this season, has been through a lot of wear and tear.
A back injury is scary enough for any player but for a rotational athlete? Here’s hoping Stafford has made the unseen progress necessary to allow for some visible progress this weekend and early next week. Whether he does or doesn’t the Rams should consider their contingencies. And one such opportunity is one they should be knocking around on heavily. Here are the three pathways the Rams can explore and, ultimately, one that should have their attention regardless.
Roll with Jimmy Garoppolo
Cover your ears, Davante Adams.
Garoppolo was the Rams’ backup quarterback in 2024 and spent the entire year in the building working with the offensive staff and, most importantly, Stafford. He’s familiar with this family of offense after his time under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco. And he will throw the ball where you tell him it is designed to go. No matter what.
It can create a bit of a roller coaster experience at times, sure. But realistically, it’s the middle of August. Who are you going to pluck off the street that will give you as broad of a menu for Week 1 as Garoppolo? You’re probably not land anyone for that.
McVay has teased his mentality here, praising Garoppolo as an NFL starter this summer. But he’ll be 34 in November and struggled with injuries of his own as a starter. He tore his left ACL in 2018, suffered a season-ending ankle injury midway through 2020, and broke his foot in 2022. Garoppolo can be the bandaid for 2025 — but the Rams should be thinking bigger amid Stafford’s questions.
Explore a possible trade acquisition
Nobody works the phones like Les Snead.
He’s currently in his ‘anti-eff them picks’ era, but Snead has extra assets to play with. Now that isn’t to say the Rams should be offering anyone that second first-round pick the team has in their back pocket for 2026. But if there’s a buy-low opportunity, the Rams could potentially protect themselves even further from the Stafford issues in the present and, potentially, strike gold on a talented quarterback who didn’t pan out elsewhere and skip the need to draft one. Teams get lucky like that sometimes — no one should put it past the Rams to be among them.
Who are some names that make sense? Kenny Pickett in Cleveland is a part of a crowded quarterback room. The Raiders have a holdover from a prior regime in Aidan O’Connell and just added two quarterbacks this offseason via Geno Smith & rookie Cam Miller. Trey Lance appears to be the third-stringer with the Chargers and has flashed during the preseason.
The Rams can easily draw some inspiration from another Shanahan disciple— Matt LaFleur in Green Bay. The Packers traded for QB Malik Willis and spontaneously patched together a tweaked offense to cater to his strengths. It’s a shame Will Levis is out for the year, too. He’d be a perfect gamble.
Who should the Rams NOT call on? Names like Jameis Winston and Kirk Cousins come to mind. If you’re going to send away an asset, get someone with some long-term upside and appeal.
Sign another veteran free agent quarterback
We’ll keep this brief. Carson Wentz, Tim Boyle, or C.J. Beathard off the street headline your options here. Thanks but no thanks.
The Final Verdict
In all honesty, none of the options externally appear to give the Rams any more upside for 2025 than Garoppolo. His best strengths as a quarterback would wind the clock back for McVay into his early Jared Goff days of Los Angeles, but we’ve seen that style be competitive before. But this situation presents an opportunity and excuse for the Rams to sniff around a lottery ticket elsewhere to add to the room. Yes, the focus is on 2025. And, in all likelihood, Stafford will be fine for the season.
But it still could be very worthwhile for the Rams to kick the tires on any buy-low trade opportunities (like Pickett, O’Connell, or Lance) that exist given their long-term outlook at quarterback and Stafford’s lingering questions. I would use the circumstances as an excuse if I were Les Snead to buy low and get the chance to catch lightning in a bottle.
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