McVay: 'First goal' is for Stafford to remain a Ram

The Los Angeles Rams' "first goal" is to have Matthew Stafford remain the team's starting quarterback but the franchise is trying to balance short-term and long-term roster decisions by letting their quarterback gauge his value, coach Sean McVay said on the "Fitz & Whit" podcast.

"There's no discrepancy on us wanting him to continue to lead the way and be our quarterback," McVay said on the podcast, hosted by former NFL players Ryan Fitzpatrick and Andrew Whitworth (who played for McVay on the Rams), that was released Tuesday. "The interesting and the challenging dilemma and dynamics within this are, 'Hey, how do you continuously as a head coach look at the short term and the long term and be able to figure out what does that really look like?'

"There is no dispute -- and let's not get it twisted in regarding to anybody wanting him to be our quarterback. Now, there's layers to it. You have to be able to say, 'Hey, how do we continuously build? How do we support him? How do we make sure that he's getting what is his worth relative to those things?'"

The Rams have given Stafford's agent, Jimmy Sexton, permission to speak to other teams about his market value, McVay confirmed on the podcast. Stafford has two years left on his contract agreed to in 2022, with $4 million guaranteed in 2025 and none in 2026. He is set to earn $27 million this season, far below that of many other starting quarterbacks.

"Don't have to do anything in secret, want to make sure that we're all abreast of the situation, even though the first goal in mind is to have you come back here as the quarterback."

"And so, at the end of the day, we had something in mind, he had something in mind, and nobody was right or wrong," McVay said. "And then, ultimately, you're saying there's a ton of interest, because this guy's an incredible player."

McVay said on the podcast that the Rams, by letting Stafford's agent talk to other teams, are trying to make an educated decision on the direction they want to go.

"There does have to be an element of understanding, well, what does that future look like without this freakin' G that's been our quarterback for the last four years? And there's no wrong or right way to go about it, but I do think for us to be able to make the most educated decision in terms of the cash budget that we operate on, the draft comp that you would get in return, you just need to be able to have all the parameters to at least explore it," McVay said. "Don't have to do anything in secret, want to make sure that we're all abreast of the situation, even though the first goal in mind is to have you come back here as the quarterback."

After spending his first 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, the Rams traded for Stafford before the 2021 season then won the Super Bowl in their first season together.

In 16 games last season, Stafford, 37, completed 65.8% of his passes for 3,762 yards with 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

McVay also addressed the "honest conversations" he had to have with wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who was informed earlier this month that the team will try to trade him after eight seasons with the franchise. McVay said, that although he loves Kupp, he has a "responsibility to the collective" as the Rams put their roster puzzle together for the 2025 season.

"This guy's changed my life," McVay said of Kupp. "It's uniquely special because my first year as a head coach coincided with his rookie year. I'm a better human, I'm a better coach and I'm a better person because of the influence Cooper Kupp's had on me. His legacy in my life and as a Ram is cemented forever."

McVay added that Kupp is "an all-time Ram from this time on whether he played another snap for the Rams."

After a record-breaking 2021 season that saw him lead the NFL in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, Kupp signed a three-year contract extension worth $80.1 million. He just completed the first season of that contract and is scheduled to have a cap hit of $29.8 million next season and $27.3 million in 2026.

Kupp's guaranteed salary next season is only $5 million, and he has no guaranteed money on the final year of the contract in 2026. If the Rams trade Kupp, 31, in a deal designated post-June 1, they will save $20 million toward their 2025 salary cap.

ESPN's Sarah Barshop contributed to this report.