Matthew Stafford looked on the bright side of his name coming up in trade rumors this past offseason.
As Stafford enters his 15th year in the NFL and third as quarterback of the Rams, he was asked about what it was like to hear all the chatter the last few months.
“I see it as flattering, I guess, that other teams would reach out and want me to come play for them,” Stafford told reporters on Wednesday.
“I just know that I’m really happy where I am, playing for this team, playing for this coach and these fans.”
And how did he react?
“I don’t react to it at all, to be honest with you,” Stafford said. “I’m too busy chasing around four kids. But I hear that stuff. I’m in contact with them all the time. I’m not sitting in on all those calls, but I get most of the details.”
Although there were reports that the Rams desperately tried to move the 35-year-old quarterback, who is just one season removed from leading the franchise to a Super Bowl victory before his $59 million option bonus came due, head coach Sean McVay said the team’s brass was in “unanimous agreement” about wanting him to return.
“When that March deadline came in of [Stafford] being due the [rest of that signing] bonus that he’s deserved and he’s earned, we were all in unanimous agreement that we wanted him to be the quarterback,” McVay told reporters.
“There were certainly some teams that had reached out, as Kevin and Les both had mentioned. But … I know I can certainly speak for all of us and say I know we’re excited as hell about Matthew Stafford. It’s been great to see him feeling good. I’m certainly really glad he’s our quarterback.”
The Rams went 5-12 last season as Stafford missed the team’s final eight games due to a spinal contusion.
