Matthew Stafford’s beard may be telling one story, but his words and his play are saying something else entirely.
The Los Angeles Rams quarterback is 38, and from the outside it would be easy to look at the growing gray in his facial hair and start guessing about the finish line. But Stafford sounded anything but finished in a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, where he talked about both the season and his bond with Sean McVay.
“Sean McVay challenges me, and I think I challenge him as well,” Stafford said."I've just loved being in a foxhole with him. He's been in my ear since I got here, and I love going to battle with him."
That doesn’t sound like a player treating this as a farewell tour.
Stafford has been around a long time now. He spent 12 years with the Detroit Lions and is in his sixth season with the Rams, but the production is still there. He recently set the Rams’ franchise record for passing touchdowns, and he did it in under five-and-a-half seasons.
There’s still another mark in reach, too. Stafford needs 2,362 passing yards to move past Jim Everett for the top spot in Rams history in that category. So even with all he has already done, there’s still business left on the table.
This season, Stafford has already piled up nearly 2,000 passing yards and 14 touchdowns. The one red flag is the turnover column: he has thrown seven interceptions, which stands out considering he averaged just nine interceptions per year over the past three seasons. He’s currently on pace to blow past that number.
Even with the occasional ugly throw, Stafford remains one of the league’s better passers. The Rams still want to throw the ball, and as long as their future quarterback is already on the roster, they can let Stafford decide how long he wants to keep this going. He may end up on the bench for longer than expected, depending on how long No. 9 keeps going.
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Sean McVay has already acknowledged the teams ongoing problems in that phase, and the front office has continued to look for answers around the edges of the roster. Long snapper Jake McQuaide even visited the Rams despite Joe Cardona being signed earlier in the offseason, which suggests the team is at least exploring every possible fix as the conversation around special teams grows louder. [Read more 🡒]