Matthew Stafford was staring at a decision point last offseason, and the push that kept him from walking away came from a familiar place: Drew Brees.
Stafford had been dealing with a back issue that forced him to sit out offseason workouts and also cut into his time in training camp and the preseason. The injury slowed him down, but the extra rest may have ended up helping him, because he later put together one of the best seasons of his career. Even with that turnaround, retirement was on the table.
Before he made up his mind, Stafford reached out to Brees for advice. On Chris Long’s “Green Light” podcast, Stafford explained how that conversation went.
“I think one of the things that surprised me was I was talking to Drew, this was before last season, and he was like, ‘How old are you again?'” Stafford said.
“I was like, ‘I’m 37,’ and he was like, ‘You might have your best five years of your career coming up.’ And I was like, ‘Huh.’
I never really thought about it that way.”
That message clearly landed. Stafford followed it with a career year, throwing a career-high 46 touchdown passes as the Rams finished just one game short of the Super Bowl.
“Drew saying that kind of lit a fire under me and gives you a little bit of belief that maybe an old guy can still go out there and spin it around a little bit,” Stafford said.
Brees was the right voice for the moment. One of the best quarterbacks ever to play, he stayed productive deep into his 40s, so he had plenty of credibility when Stafford needed perspective.
And for now, Stafford is still very much at the center of things in Los Angeles. Even after the Rams selected Ty Simpson in the first round of the NFL Draft, this remains Stafford’s team.
After a busy offseason of major moves, the message from the Rams is clear: they’re going for it. If that push ends with a Super Bowl, Sean McVay might owe Brees a thank-you card.
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