Would Rams' Matthew Stafford have refused to practice without reworked deal?

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love and Miami Dolphins starter Tua Tagovailoa are among noteworthy players not fully participating in training-camp practices amid their desires for contract extensions.

Los Angeles Rams veteran signal-caller Matthew Stafford was asked Wednesday if he could've made a similar decision had he not recently agreed to a reworked contract with the club.

"I don’t even think about that kind of stuff, to be honest with you," Stafford responded, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "In this business, I’m play-to-play, day-to-day and I’m moment-to-moment so I’m happy to be doing this. ...Shoot, we haven’t done this in a while so it’s nice to be out here and throw it around to let these guys do their thing."

Stafford reportedly declined a request from the Rams last offseason to restructure the contract extension he signed shortly after he guided Los Angeles to a win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. 

It was then learned this past spring he wanted more guaranteed money beyond the 2024 season, in part because he had no guaranteed salary for the 2025 and 2026 campaigns attached to his previous deal. 

Stafford turned just 36 years old this past winter and made 16 meaningful starts (playoffs included) for the Rams last season. He already had millions upon millions of reasons to want to continue playing even before he and the Rams worked things out right before the start of training camp.

"I do a pretty stressful thing for a living so I’m kind of used to those kinds of things," Stafford said about negotiations continuing through this week. "To be honest with you, I’m happy to be where I am. I know that sounds — over and over again you’re going hear it, but that’s just the truth of it. I’m not interested in kind of reliving my moment-by-moment feelings here or there, but I am just interested in pushing this team and getting to play with these guys for another season."

As of late Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Rams at +100 betting odds to make the playoffs for the 2024 season coming off their 24-23 wild-card loss at the Detroit Lions. 

Having a happy and motivated Stafford in camp should be only a positive for a Los Angeles team looking to return to the postseason tournament.