Matthew Stafford Holdout Drama Ramping Up Before Rams Camp

Los Angeles Rams training camp sees players (both veterans and rookies) scheduled to report on Tuesday, July 23rd ahead of the first practice on Thursday, July 25. With this happening, all eyes are on a certain star player who is reportedly looking for a new contract.

And the first update on Matthew Stafford isn't a good one.

While many Rams stars chose to report a day early, showing up on Monday, Stafford was a notable absence from the group. The drama is on now as fans wait to see whether he will report at all, or whether he will kick off a holdout.

It's important to note that nothing required him to report early. But when you're the leader on the team and a bunch of the other stars are reporting early, it would be a good idea to join them. Especially if you knew how much drama there was surrounding your contract situation.

It's easy to get upset at your quarterback for bringing this kind of off-field drama into the fold, but it's also not like Stafford's demands are ridiculous. By all accounts he's not looking to keep up with the market that is now paying top signal-callers over $50 million per year. Instead he's looking for more guaranteed money for 2025 and 2026. Currently tied for 12th among quarterbacks (with Daniel Jones and Dak Prescott) in average yearly salary at $40 million, Stafford has $17 million in guarantees in 2025 and another $17 million in 2026. The Rams have a potential out in his contract after 2025 though, when trading or releasing him would save them over $30 mililion in cap space (contract data per Spotrac).

Stafford was still terrific last season, ranking No. 5 among all quarterbacks in overall grade and No. 4 in passing grade from Pro Football Focus. And he has a ton of leverage here.

The Rams' roster is getting younger, but it's still built very much to contend for a playof spot right now, and not to stare down an early rebuild. The difference between having Stafford or having Stetson Bennett at the helm is absolutely the difference between being a playoff contender and a rebuilding squad.

It's hard to imagine a deal doesn't get done at some point before the season, but of course Rams fans would prefer to see that happen without a holdout. Remove the distractions. Spend time building offensive chemistry and shaking off the rust. Focus on winning. But at the same time, if this is the only way Stafford thinks he can get a new deal done, it's just as much on the Rams organization to do what it takes to keep him on the field and avoid all of those potential issues.

And who knows, maybe Stafford shows up and reports anyway. It's too early to panic, and this news hasn't caused any sort of a shift in the Rams' odds to make the playoffs, which sit at +106 on FanDuel Sportsbook.

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