McVay: '1st goal' is to retain Stafford but Rams exploring options

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay says his priority is retaining Matthew Stafford, but only if it makes sense for the team amid contract negotiations and trade rumors involving the quarterback.

"When you talk about the elephant in the room, these are the things that are really challenging," McVay said on the "Fitz & Whit" podcast. "Because there's no discrepancy on us wanting him to continue to lead the way and be our quarterback.

"The interesting and the challenging dilemma and dynamics within this are, hey, how do you continuously, as a head coach, look at the short term and the long term and be able to figure out what does that really look like?"

Stafford reportedly wants to stay with the Rams but would likely need his contract amended - he's only set to earn $27 million next season with $4 million guaranteed. That would place him outside the top 10 highest-paid signal-callers.

The Rams reportedly permitted Stafford's camp to speak with other teams in order to gauge his market value. The New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, Las Vegas Raiders, and Cleveland Browns have reportedly shown interest in acquiring Stafford.

McVay was transparent about the complicated situation, admitting the team is doing its due diligence as it explores its options.

"At the end of the day, we had something in mind, he had something in mind, and nobody was right or wrong," McVay said. "And then, ultimately, you're saying there's a ton of interest because this guy is an incredible player."

He added: "I do think for us to be able to make the most educated decision in terms of the cash budget that we operate on, the draft comp that you would get in return, you just need to be able to have all the parameters to at least explore it. Don't have to do anything in secret, want to make sure that we're all abreast of the situation, even though the first goal in mind is to have you come back here as the quarterback.

"These decisions aren't made in a vacuum, and that's kind of the challenging part of it, but love this guy, and he's been incredible for us."

Stafford has spent four seasons in Los Angeles after the Rams acquired him from the Detroit Lions in 2021. He's led the team to the playoffs in three of his four years in L.A. and won Super Bowl LVI.