Rams head coach Sean McVay isn't going anywhere after his newest contract extension, and he'd certainly love it if several of his best players returned with him for the 2026 NFL season.
Multiple Rams players have been mentioned as potentially pondering retirement, most notably quarterback Matthew Stafford, and McVay didn't shed any new light Monday on their future plans. But McVay said he'd absolutely be in favor of Stafford -- the presumed MVP favorite -- playing another season in Los Angeles, if he's up to it.
"If that's something that he wants to do, the answer is absolutely yes," McVay said. "I think what's great is he's gonna take his time with (his wife) Kelly and the girls and see what's best, but man, is he still playing at an incredible level.
"Our hope is that he does (return), but with respect to his timetable and ability to be able to communicate with you guys whenever he feels ready to make that announcement, we'll let him be able to do that."
According to McVay, Stafford, who turns 38 years old on Saturday, will not require offseason surgery on the aggravated disc in his back. There's no clear timeline for Stafford's decision, McVay said, and the coach hasn't set a hard deadline for a decision.
"No, not yet. He deserves as much time as he needs," McVay said. "We spend a lot of time together. ... I'm hopeful, but with respect to him, (we) haven't set any sort of timetable. I don't get the sense he wants to let it drag on either, and then we'll just kind of see how he's feeling.
"I'm keeping my fingers crossed, like you guys, that he wants to still play."
McVay has adopted a similar wait-and-see approach with right tackle Rob Havenstein and tight end Tyler Higbee, who are also in the process of making decisions about their futures, with the coach saying he's giving them time to decide if they want to continue playing.
On the good-news front, McVay said he has "no reason to believe" that wide receiver Davante Adams won't be back next season. The NFL's receiving-touchdowns leader has one year remaining on his contract, with $28 million due.
Regardless of the decisions by Stafford and other Rams, this is guaranteed to be a significant offseason for the franchise. Armed with ample salary-cap space and extra draft picks, Los Angeles has plenty of ammunition to improve the roster. There also is the chance of the Rams extending some of their key young players, including Puka Nacua and Steve Avila on offense and Byron Young and Kobie Turner on defense.
McVay said they have "strong interest in continuing our journey with those guys."
There also are coaching changes afoot. The Rams fired special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn during the season and have since replaced him with Bubba Ventrone, who held the same position with the Browns. Announcing the hire Monday, McVay said Ventrone was "someone I've had my eye on a while."
The Rams also must find a new offensive coordinator after Mike LaFleur was named Arizona Cardinals head coach. McVay said the Rams will undergo an "extensive search" for LaFleur's replacement but that there are "in-house candidates" who'll factor into that position.
Another friend turned foe now in the NFC West will be former Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, who worked with McVay for three years. After Morris was fired as head coach of the Falcons, the 49ers signed Morris to be their defensive coordinator to replace Robert Saleh, now the Titans’ head coach. McVay joked that he "wouldn't have minded" if Morris "was in a different division."
