The Los Angeles Rams announced on Friday that they had restructured the contract of quarterback Matthew Stafford, keeping him in LA for the 2025-26 season. This comes less than a week after the Rams gave Stafford and his agent permission to talk to other teams to determine the quarterback’s market value.
Since joining the Rams in 2021, Stafford has accumulated a 34-23 record in 57 starts, throwing for 14,700 passing yards and 95 touchdowns. He famously led the Rams to a Super Bowl victory in his first season with the team.
ALLOW ME TO REINTRODUCE MYSELF pic.twitter.com/0uaAiGsWTa
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 28, 2025
This wasn’t the only big move the Rams made over the weekend. According to the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport, LA also signed offensive tackle Alaric Jackson to a three-year contract extension worth $57 million. The deal includes $35 million in guaranteed money.
Last season, Jackson made 16 starts for the Rams, including two playoff games. He has played over 1,000 snaps in each of the last two seasons while only surrendering four sacks during that time.
Two massive free agency dominoes fall
Alaric Jackson and Matthew Stafford were two of the best “available” players this off-season at their respective positions. Stafford was easily the best quarterback on the market outside of those involved in the 2025 NFL Draft. Meanwhile, Jackson was the second-highest-rated offensive tackle in this free-agent class, according to NFL Daily host Gregg Rosenthal.
The effects of Stafford’s new deal are already being seen around the league. The New York Giants have begun looking into other veteran quarterback options, including former New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Simultaneously, the Las Vegas Raiders are expected to pursue other quarterbacks, like Sam Darnold, Russell Wilson, and Justin Fields.
“In theory, yeah, you take the rookie quarterback, they’re on the rookie deal for five years. Where we are salary cap-wise, you can build around them. You’ve got to make sure that one of those guys are going to be there or they’re even in the draft,” said Giants general manager Joe Schoen. “Having a vet in place – I’ve told you guys this before – where when you go into draft day, you could go play a game. Is your team going to be as good as you want it to be? No, but you’ve still got the draft. So prevent some of the draft-for-need and being able to take the best player available.”
Sources: The #Rams and LT Alaric Jackson have agreed to a 3-year, $57M deal with $35M guaranteed, keeping him in Los Angeles to protect Matthew Stafford.
Jackson, who was set to be a top free agent in a few weeks, will now remain with the Rams as they lock in the 26-year-old… pic.twitter.com/OuUQ3Mc3Iw
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) February 28, 2025
Several teams in the NFL currently need to re-tool their offensive line. Adding a starting-level tackle like Alaric Jackson would have helped make that dream become a reality.
The Chicago Bears are the first team that comes to mind when we talk about franchises that need to fix their offensive line. Quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked 68 times last year, which was tied for the third-most sacks ever taken in a single season. With new coach Ben Johnson joining the squad, the Bears will have to be very active in free agency and the draft if they want to fill the massive holes they have along the offensive line.
The Kansas City Chiefs could have lured Jackson away from LA. The prospect of winning a Super Bowl would be incredibly enticing for almost any free agent. On top of that, the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIX performance showed that they need to make some serious improvements at the tackle position. Now, they’ll have to either stick with the guys they have or settle for one of the lesser offensive tackle free agents available.
The top guard, Trey Smith, and the top offensive tackle, Alaric Jackson, in the upcoming free agent class are now off the board. Elite offensive linemen, especially young ones, rarely hit free agency. https://t.co/59Rik4latH
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 28, 2025
Jackson staying in LA also makes me believe that the Baltimore Ravens will re-sign offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley, who is scheduled to become a free agent when the new league year begins on March 12th. Even though Stanley will demand an expensive contract extension, the Ravens would be downgrading at the tackle position if they sign anybody else to replace him at this point. Considering they were just two games away from reaching the Super Bowl, I don’t imagine Baltimore will want to let its franchise left tackle walk out the door, especially now that there are no free agents who can replicate his level of production.
