Will Stafford be back for 2026 season?

Tue, Jan 27, 2026

Patrick Daugherty and Denny Carter ponder whether we will see Matt Stafford back for another go-round in the NFL after a very successful 2025 season.

37-year-old Matthew Stafford went from not even knowing if he was going to play Denny Carter to being the frontrunner for the MVP.

He came agonizingly close to reaching a second Super Bowl with the Rams.

They didn't get there.

The off-season is here.

Now here for L.A. Matthew Stafford being, contemplative about his future again.

He said he's gonna take his time, Denny Carter.

What would he be walking away from if he did?

Hang up his cleats at this juncture?

Well, a lot of money.

You know, he would be a $48 million cap hit for the Rams next year.

So he does have some financial incentive to come back.

I think he will, considering how good 2025 was for Matthew Stafford.

I mean, by most marks, it was his best NFL season over 17 years in the league.

Forty-six touchdowns, 7.7% touchdown rate, that's a career high.

Of course.

His interception rate was 1.3%.

That's a career low.

His adjusted yards per attempt, 8.8, a career high.

So I could keep going, and I, and I, and I won't, because we don't have time for that.

But I will say that Matthew Stafford had an amazing season this year.

I think that he can repeat something like it next year.

And his play just never really slipped.

Even when Davante Adams was injured.

We kind of were waiting for that Stafford classic, three-interception game.

One of them was a pick-six game, and it just didn't happen.

He kept the offense on his back as the Rams' defense fell apart.

Matthew Stafford retiring would be a brutal blow for fantasy managers.

But much more so for the Rams.