In January 2021, the Rams stunned the league by trading two first‑round picks and Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford. A risk that was rewarded with a Super Bowl parade thirteen months later. Now, the same front‑office swagger is on the clock. Los Angeles just re‑signed a 37-year-old Stafford through 2026. Silencing quarterback talk but turning up the heat on every other roster move. With a finite window before age and cap math catch up, Sean McVay is confronted with the same harsh mathematics he answered in 2021.
Local voices and those of content creators such as Jake Ellenbogen are quickly adding up about $40 million of available cap space. It landed on the thinnest patch on the depth chart: wide receiver. Cooper Kupp‘s chronic hamstring, Demarcus Robinson‘s exit, and a wafer-thin layer behind Puka Nacua leave Stafford one rolled ankle from deja vu. Others have called for the team to kick the tires on Gabe Davis. A 6’2″, 225‑pound jump‑ball specialist who used to burn Kansas City for 201 playoff yards. He’d bring a vertical dimension and red‑zone punch. Davis was released by the Jaguars in May after having signed a 3-year $39 million contract last March.
The rest of the $40 million plan is also specific. Interior lineman Tyler Biadasz ($8 million annually) would front a pass-blocking unit that was 22nd in 2024. Old Ram Gerald Everett could be brought back on $7 million as a seam-stretching tight end who understands working in McVay’s offense. For depth, Donovan Peoples-Jones offers WR4 and return ability at $4 million. And finally, a seasoned corner on a $3–4 million bet-hedger on a veteran who can split snaps with Darion Kendrick and Emanuel Forbes.
It’s a considerate strategy to plug L.A.’s largest gaps: a vertical WR threat, improved protection, and role players with flexibility. Déjà vu from the 2022 cap breakdown concerns critics but McVay’s history is against holding back. Look at Andrew Whitworth, Brandin Cooks , or the 2021 deadline splurge for Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr., significant deals that balanced veteran necessity with win-now urgency.
McVay’s offense is constructed in layers: jet motion to stretch boundaries, timing routes to make vacated areas suffer. And an actual field‑stretcher to keep safeties honest. That final layer disappeared whenever Kupp limped onto the sidelines. An established outside target, such as Davis or any equivalent WR2, will most assuredly demand $16‑18 million annually. Add an interior lineman to shore up pass protection and a reliable “move” tight end, and the Rams would burn through most of their $40 million, but they would also protect their veteran quarterback from another season of 30‑point bursts followed by 13‑point droughts.
Defense still needs tweaks, but insiders note McVay prefers to funnel premium dollars toward the ball in Stafford’s hands. If Los Angeles spends big. And look for an outside receiver who can win vertically, plus a veteran guard or center to fortify the league’s 22nd‑ranked pass‑blocking unit from 2024. Secondary help can come on smaller, incentive‑laden deals, keeping youngsters on a growth track. Spend where Stafford feels it; patch elsewhere on the cheap.
Long-term Matthew Stafford replacement speculation continues
The Rams’ extension of Matthew Stafford till 2026 answered immediate quarterback questions. But not the long-term question of what’s after the 37-year-old quarterback. And, it so happens, the front office was already discussing this exact question in-house. During OTAs, head coach Sean McVay openly acknowledged Los Angeles had explored signing Aaron Rodgers, just in case Stafford negotiations hadn’t worked out. McVay explained that the team had genuinely considered switching to the then-available veteran QB. The declaration not only surprised the community but also served to illustrate how volatile the Rams’ quarterback situation had become.
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In the end, the Rams opted for steadiness over bedlam, but the Rodgers wooing was a front office willing to think short-term, even at the cost of paying top dollar. That his name was even brought up, however, demonstrated a brutal truth. The Rams really don’t have Stafford’s replacement on their roster. Stetson Bennett, the 2023 draft pick who sat out his rookie year with a non-football illness, is a giant question mark. Stafford’s new contract can be time-efficient, but it also compels the Rams to survive a make-or-break draft-and-development year in 2025. Without a young quarterback fighting for reps and without a veteran sitting out in wait, Los Angeles will be caught flat-footed if Stafford declines or gets injured.
As one analyst recently pointed out, “You get comfortable, he’s feeling good, and then he goes down… well then you have the same thing you had last year.” That’s exactly the nightmare scenario the Rams hope to avoid: a repeat of 2022 or 2024, when Stafford’s injuries exposed a shaky depth chart.
The Rodgers Plan B is demonstrating that the team is not eliminating high-profile players. But long-term quarterback stability is an open case file. Stafford’s the man for now. But Los Angeles is aware that the plan has an expiration date. And 2025 may sneak up and be the year they choose his successor.
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