Matthew Stafford Contradicts Rams COO Demoff About Contract Talks amid NFL Rumors

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and chief operating officer Kevin Demoff have offered conflicting stories about the 35-year-old's contract status.

Speaking to reporters at training camp on Wednesday, Stafford said the Rams spoke with his camp this offseason about potentially restructuring his deal.

"I'm always in contact with them again on everything in those regards," he explained. "They did and I'll keep all that kind of stuff, those kinds of conversations in house. I'll just leave it at that."

Appearing on the 11 Personnel podcast (h/t Cameron DaSilva of Rams Wire) last week, Demoff said there "were no discussions with Matthew about restructuring his contract" because he didn't have any guaranteed money left on the deal.

Asked more specifically about whether or not the team asked him to restructure his contract, Stafford acknowledged the two sides had talks: "I don't know what the technical term of it is, but we had conversations on that kind of stuff, and I'll leave it at that."

Stafford signed a four-year, $160 million contract extension with the Rams in March 2022. The deal included $57 million fully guaranteed through the 2024 season between an option bonus that had to be picked up between March 15-17 and his base salary for next year that kicked in on March 17.

Michael Lombardi of The GM Shuffle podcast said on The Pat McAfee Show that the Rams "attempted with a lot of effort" to trade Stafford before that option bonus took effect.

Head coach Sean McVay was more diplomatic in his response when asked on Wednesday if Stafford was asked to restructure his contract.

"I know I can certainly speak for all of us and say we are excited as hell about Matthew Stafford," McVay told reporters, "it's been great to see him feeling good. I'm certainly really glad he's our quarterback."

Stafford is entering his third season with the Rams. He led the team to a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl 56 in his first year with the club.

Injuries limited Stafford to just nine games during the 2022 season. He threw for 2,087 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions in those starts last year.