Matthew Stafford Playing at High Level Late in Career

Longevity is something most professional athletes long for, especially in a physical and brutal sport like football. The quarterback position is one of the best to maintain it outside of one of the three main special teams positions of kicker, punter, and long snapper.

The Los Angeles Rams are enjoying the longevity of quarterback Matthew Stafford, who will be entering his 17th season in the NFL at age-37 while still playing at a high level. Heading into the 2025 season, Stafford is a part of a Rams team with a numerous amount of young, talented players on both sides of the ball ready to make a charge at a championship.

Not long ago, this team began making a significant roster shakeup that led to the belief that a rebuild was in effect for Los Angeles with a young team coming off a 5-12 campaign winning the Super Bowl the season prior. Instead, head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead have built a talented team that can win a lot of games this season.

All of this despite losing Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, Ernest Jones, and more over the years as the Rams continued to build their roster. What makes this more intriguing is that Snead will have two first-round picks to work with in 2026, expediting the "rebuild" and establishing Los Angeles as the team to beat.

Stafford has been the key to all of this despite the change across the roster. He might be getting older and, no, he's no Tom Brady as far as longevity is concerned, but he is one of the 10 best passers in the NFL despite injuries that hampered the offense to some extent in 2024.

Pro Football Focus acknowledged this in their latest article by analyst Ryan Smith, examining the 10 veterans playing at a high level entering this season. Smith wrote that despite having a lower PFF grade last year, Stafford had some issues such as injuries around the quarterback position working against him.

"Aside from right guard Kevin Dotson, all Rams starting offensive linemen missed time due to injury. The team was also hit hard by injuries at the skill positions, most notably to wide receiver Puka Nacua and tight end Tyler Higbee," Smith said.

"Despite that, Stafford still had the Rams in position to knock off the eventual Super Bowl champions on the road in the divisional round with just over a minute to go in the fourth quarter. Few quarterbacks in the NFL have as much command of their offense as Stafford does in Los Angeles, which keeps him in the top 10 conversation at 37 years old," Smith continued.

20 wins in the last two seasons despite injuries, inexperience, and inconsistencies playing a factor, the Rams and Stafford have pushed forward with resilience and opportunity when it matters most, hoping the latter can maintain his high-end play during his age-37 season.