The Rams have returned to their all-in ways of a half-decade ago with unbridled aggression in 2026 and can thank their quarterback's quick decision to return for jumpstarting their offseason efforts.
Unlike a year ago, Matthew Stafford didn't flirt with other avenues while using his contract as leverage. Instead, he chose a grand stage -- the 2026 NFL Honors, at which he received the NFL Most Valuable Player Award -- to announce he'd be back for another season with the Rams.
"It was good. Everything starts with that position, and when you've got a guy like him that instills belief in everybody around him, the way he goes about it, he epitomizes everything we want to be about," coach Sean McVay told NFL Network's Steve Wyche this weekend at the Annual League Meeting in Phoenix. "Then, obviously, he's a special player, but even more a special person. It meant a lot. We're so connected, I think there was a good feel, good vibe that that was the direction you were going in, but you never want to be presumptive. He's earned the right to be able to do it on his terms, and I think he still loves playing. He's obviously playing at an incredible clip, so that was big."
That opened the door for general manager Les Snead to get to work, attacking the new league year with precision by swinging a trade for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie and adding fellow former Chiefs corner Jaylen Watson to address the team's biggest need. Another pickup, linebacker Grant Stuard, added some depth to Los Angeles' linebacking corps and signaled what everyone already expected from the Rams: They're in it to win it all in 2026.
"He adds a lot," McVay said of McDuffie, a first-team All-Pro selection in 2023. "I think first and foremost, that was a spot we wanted to be able to address. When you do something of that nature, you better make sure they're checking every single box in terms of who they are as a human, what does the tape look like over the first four years of his career, who is he, how does he move, what's he all about? And we had some inside knowledge based on [defensive backs coach] Jimmy Lake having been his coach in college. Obviously, what he's put on tape and then what you hear about the human being and everything he represents, we felt like it was worth it.
"He's got the ability to play field, boundary, star, he can play the dime spot if you wanted him to. What he does do is he allows us to be able to move the hard downs around, be able to change the math in our favor. The more I get to know him, every time I talk to him I just leave that conversation feeling better about myself just because of the way that he is, and I'm excited to be able to work with him."
McDuffie exemplified versatility in his four seasons with the Chiefs, willingly filling whatever role defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had in mind for him -- including spending most of the Super Bowl-winning 2023 season in the slot and producing a few key plays in the Chiefs' triumph over San Francisco in Super Bowl LVIII -- and proving he was worth a haul of four picks (including the Rams' 2026 first-round selection) in order to acquire him. It's a move reminiscent of the Rams' last run to a Super Bowl title, in which Snead gave up a haul to add cornerback Jalen Ramsey prior to Los Angeles' win over Cincinnati in Super Bowl LVI, an approach defined by a simple slogan: 'F--- them picks.'
"We love the picks!" McVay said. "Here's the thing, we're just not afraid to be able to figure out the different avenues of acquiring great players that add value to us. Sometimes it means a first-round pick is, hey, I feel like that's a good, sound decision when you go get Trent McDuffie or you go get Matthew Stafford or you go get Jalen Ramsey or you go get Brandin Cooks of the world. You've got to have the right kind of person that you're willing to do that with, but it doesn't mean there's not a tremendous value of when your draft Steve Avila, Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Puka Nacua, Davis Allen, Warren McClendon all in that draft a couple years ago.
"There's different avenues to build a team, and what we want to do is just be able to be creative and not exclusively just operate in a singular focus, but have different ways of trying to stay competitive. It's worked out well, and then there's been a lot of decisions that we've looked back on and say, OK, we would do that differently. That's what we try to do consistently."
What's been most consistent in McVay's time with the Rams is the success they've produced over the last decade: Seven playoff appearances in nine years, two NFC titles, one Super Bowl win and most recently, one heartbreaking loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game.
McVay was visibly distraught following that loss, acknowledging how confident he was in his team's chances of winning it all. The Rams have acted accordingly since then, bolstering the defense with the goal of preventing another high-scoring loss with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
After all, McVay knows the title window will only be open for so long. Much of that is dependent on how long Stafford will play, yet the Rams don't seem to be too concerned with planning for the future. They're living in the present and aiming to extract the most from the opportunities that exist right around the corner.
"That's always the great challenge is you want to make sure you're maximizing the opportunity you have with him while also not being naïve to, hey, I'm hopeful to be with the Rams for a long time," McVay said of Stafford. "He's gonna be able to play as long as he's able to, whether that's one, two more, who knows, he might be one of those guys that plays late into his 40s and I wouldn't have a problem with that. Those are dialogues and discussions that we have a lot, and it's always figuring out that balance of continuing to build and take advantage of what a unique player you have while also not being naïve to eventually we are not gonna have the luxury of having him as our guy, and that's a super important position."
Super important, indeed. There's no better time than now to make the most of it.