“It was a grueling month” - Rams GM Les Snead makes feelings known about Matthew Stafford nearly leaving Rams

Matthew Stafford appeared to be on the verge of leaving the Los Angeles Rams after four seasons with the franchise. However, the two sides were able to find a resolution ahead of free agency as the Super Bowl LVI champion agreed to a restructured contract.

Les Snead recently shared his thoughts on the process leading up to the deal. Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, the Rams general manager stated:

"It was definitely a unique experience. It was really fruitful, very rejuvenating to all of us. And I think at the end of the day, the partnership with the franchise QB, is a nickname, franchise QB. And it comes with parameters and there's trade-offs with those parameters. But at the end of the day, we're partnering, to go on this journey to chase great, to chase good, to be better than good.

Snead said that each year since the Rams' Super Bowl win in 2022, they have redone Stafford's contract and he has returned despite some "friction" and "trade-offs."

"The neat thing about that month, even though it was a grueling month to work through. Hey, are we gonna trade Matthew? Is Matthew going to wanna go somewhere else? Is he gonna wanna come back here? At the end of the day, everyone, Matthew, his family, Sean, our coaching staff, myself, our organization, we all realized, you know what, we really want to take on this journey together.

"And it was cool to, let's call it rekindle our relationship, get rejuvenated to go chase great. because there's stress and drudgery that comes with chasing great, especially when you're a franchise QB."

Check out Les Snead's comments on Matthew Stafford below:

Stafford threw for 3,762 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 65.8% of his pass attempts in 2024. He led the franchise to their third postseason appearance in his four-year tenure.

The New York Giants had blockbuster plan of building around Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford was allowed to speak with the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders prior to restructuring his deal with the Los Angeles Rams. This week, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated discussed the Giants' blockbuster plan during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, stating:

"I'll say with the Giants in particular, I know one thing that they had sort of talked to Matthew Stafford about was the idea of the third overall pick being able to help him, you know, and that if they brought him in, then, you know, like, all right, like now we can maybe use the third pick on Travis Hunter.

"And maybe Travis Hunter can be the third receiver, and you bring Cooper Kupp with you. And now we got Malik Nabers, Cooper Kupp and Travis Hunter. Those are concepts that I know were at least discussed."

Check out Albert Breer's comments on the New York Giants' plans below (starting at the 0:50 mark):

Matthew Stafford ultimately wound up returning to the Rams, leaving the Giants with a massive hole at the sport's most important position. New York has been linked to Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson in free agency and could look to target a quarterback with the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.