• Sarah BarshopMar 3, 2026, 02:49 PM ET

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  Sarah Barshop covers the Los Angeles Rams for ESPN. She joined ESPN in 2016 to cover the Green Bay Packers for ESPN Milwaukee. She then moved to Houston to cover the Texans. She came to ESPN after working as a writer and editor for Sports Illustrated.

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LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay said the team has had "great dialogue" with Matthew Stafford entering the final season of the quarterback's contract, adding that he feels "confident about being able to work those things out."

Stafford, 38, announced his desire to return to the Rams last month after being named the 2025 NFL MVP.

"We've had great dialogue," McVay said Tuesday when asked whether Stafford would play under the final season of his contract or whether the sides would rework his deal. "I think the good thing is that communication that exists. [I] feel confident about being able to work those things out.

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"We were obviously really fired up, had a sense that that was the direction it was going to go, but that's always the first, that's always as important as anything is having a guy like him excited and motivated to continue to play at a good clip."

The Rams have adjusted Stafford's contract in each of the last two offseasons. Rams general manager Les Snead said the team has "chatted with Matthew with his reps," calling it a "stable" situation.

"So we'll continue taking it year by year, but we definitely expect Matthew to be our QB, as he mentioned," Snead said.

Snead said while the two sides will take a year-by-year approach, he did not rule out the possibility of signing Stafford to a contract extension.

"I think that when we say year-to-year, I think it's a lot bigger than [a] contract," Snead said. "It's us working with Matthew, Matthew working on us ... based on, hey, does Matthew as an individual want to continue doing what it takes to be elite in this league?"

Stafford is coming off the best season of his career, winning MVP after passing for 4,707 yards, 46 touchdowns and eight interceptions. It was the first MVP award of his 17-year career. Stafford and the Rams won two playoff games before losing to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game.

Stafford has thrown for 64,516 regular-season passing yards, which ranks sixth in NFL history.

"I do think everything starts with that position," McVay said. "And then you're able to be able to figure out what it looks like. And so you don't take for granted how lucky you are to have a guy like him running the show. And that's why we want to do as good a job as we can of taking advantage of these opportunities."

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