NFL Insider: Rams 'Comfortable' With Jimmy Garoppolo Amid Matthew Stafford Rumors

While star quarterback Matthew Stafford's future with the Los Angeles Rams is currently murky, the Rams reportedly have a backup plan in place should Stafford depart the organization.

Speaking Tuesday on her Scoop City podcast (beginning at the 15:26 mark), Dianna Russini of The Athletic said the Rams are "comfortable" with Jimmy Garoppolo as their quarterback if they lose Stafford:

Stafford, 37, has two years left on his contract with the Rams at an average annual cap hit of around $51 million, but ESPN's Sarah Barshop reported last week that the Rams gave Stafford's agent permission to speak to other teams about his market value.

While that could be a case of Stafford trying to leverage more money out of the Rams in the form of a reworked contract, it is possible the Rams could balk and trade him if the asking price remains above what they are willing to pay.

Provided that happens, Russini suggested Rams head coach Sean McVay would be fine with going into the 2025 NFL season with Jimmy G as his starter under center.

Garoppolo, 33, is set to become a free agent this offseason, but Russini expressed her belief that the Rams will re-sign him regardless of Stafford's status.

Originally a second-round draft pick by the New England Patriots in 2014, Garoppolo enjoyed his greatest success with the San Francisco 49ers from 2017 to 2022.

As a member of the Niners, Garoppolo went 38-17 as a starter and threw for 13,599 yards, 82 touchdowns and 42 interceptions. He also led the 49ers to a Super Bowl berth, losing to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Garoppolo, who won two Super Bowls as the backup to Tom Brady in New England, started six games for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023 after the 49ers decided to move forward with Brock Purdy as their starting quarterback.

Jimmy G went 3-3, but largely struggled, completing 65.1 percent of his passes for 1,205 yards, seven touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Garoppolo appeared in and started only one game for the Rams last season, and although it was a 30-25 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, he largely impressed, going 27-of-41 for 334 yards with two touchdowns and one pick.

While Garoppolo does have a history of NFL success, it can be argued that he would be a sizable downgrade from Stafford, who is 34-23 with 14,700 passing yards, 95 touchdowns and 44 interceptions over his four seasons in L.A.

Most notably, Stafford threw for 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns, and led the Rams to a Super Bowl win in 2021. He has also taken them to the playoffs three times in four seasons overall, and they won a road playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings last season before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Divisional Round.

Although his numbers weren't huge, Stafford was quite solid once again last season, going 10-6 as a starter and completing 65.8 percent of his passes for 3,762 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight picks.

Stafford is already a potential future Hall of Famer, as he is 10th in NFL history in both career passing yards (59,809) and passing touchdowns (377).

Replacing his production, experience, leadership and history of success would not be easy, but Rams leadership apparently feels the team can win with Garoppolo if things come down to that.