https://sports.yahoo.com/article/les-snead-finding-next-qb-175611548.html
Quarterback Matthew Stafford will be back with the Rams in 2025.
But beyond that, the future isn’t so clear for Los Angeles and the 37-year-old quarterback.
Stafford, the No. 1 pick of the 2009 draft, is in the latter stages of his career. And at some point, the Rams know they’ll have to move on and replace the QB who helped them win Super Bowl LVI.
To that end, General Manager Les Snead said on Wednesday that the Rams would like to bring in a young quarterback as soon as possible to set up a succession plan. But getting that done isn’t simple.
“I do think part of the equation that’s the hardest part of that equation is — it’s one thing to identify [the] QB, it’s another to actually be able to acquire him,” Snead said in a video conference. “Let’s say we did and that person could learn under Matthew, that’s probably only beneficial.”
But if doing that cost the Rams an asset that could help the franchise contend, it might give L.A. some pause.
“Even if we identified someone, sometimes it’s hard to acquire them and then you get into, OK, wait a minute, we do have Matthew and we want to chase ‘special,’ whatever special may be,” Snead said. “So maybe it’s best at that moment to draft another position player and keep going that way.
“You’re always balancing those two things but finding the next QB, that one is easier said than done. I think we’ve seen that over the course of history, the Green Bay Packers have done a nice job.”
The Packers, of course, drafted Aaron Rodgers in 2005 while Brett Favre was still their starter. Then they drafted Jordan Love in 2020, sitting him behind Rodgers for three seasons before he took over as the club’s starter in 2023.
Stafford has still been playing great ball over the last two seasons, completing 66 percent of his passes for 3,762 yards with 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2024. He then completed 63 percent of his throw for 533 yards with four touchdowns and no picks in two postseason games.
The Rams have the No. 26 overall pick in the first round of this year’s draft, which could put them in contention to select a quarterback if the right one falls. That would give them the benefit of the fifth-year option.
But Los Angeles also traded its 2025 second-round pick last year to move up and select Braden Fiske. Based on Snead’s history at G.M., that could make the Rams a prime contender to trade down and acquire more picks at the end of the first round.
https://sports.yahoo.com/article/les-snead-finding-next-qb-175611548.html
