Insider shares when Rams, Matthew Stafford saga could end

As of Thursday morning, Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams hadn't come to terms on a restructured contract amid rumors linking Stafford with quarterback-needy teams such as the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders.

For a piece published Wednesday night, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated suggested the conclusion of the Stafford-Rams saga could come as soon as this week during the NFL Scouting Combine. 

"There is a soft deadline coming," Breer explained. "$4M of the $27M in cash Stafford is due in 2025 will come in the form of a roster bonus on March 14. My guess is this gets done before then, because the legal tampering period (of free agency) kicks off on March 10, and the league year starts on March 12. So, the best thing for the Rams and other teams involved, and Stafford himself, is to have finality by then. Once the sides here reach that point, then I think we start to hear more on the other dominoes (Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, Sam Darnold, etc.) on this year’s market."

It was reported on Wednesday that the Rams "will now be driving up the asking price if they decide to move" Stafford after the Giants and Raiders showed interest in the 37-year-old. While it's believed Los Angeles wants at least a first-round draft pick in return for Stafford, it also seems that neither he nor the organization wants to break up this offseason. 

With that said, Stafford is reportedly looking to earn closer to $50M per campaign via a restructured deal he hasn't yet received from the Rams. It's unclear if the Raiders, Giants or any other team would give him a contract to his liking, but Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News said on Wednesday that the Giants' interest in Stafford "is more than smoke." 

"Stafford’s flirtation with suitors like the Giants and Raiders conceivably could end up leading to nothing more than a Rams raise with a renegotiated contract," Leonard added. "However, this is a lot of dancing for a team, player and agent to do just to end up where they started."

Meanwhile, Rodgers and Cousins have both been mentioned as possible replacements for Stafford if the Rams trade the one-time Super Bowl champion to a different club. Darnold, who is set to reach free agency on the first day of the new league year, likely will be out of Los Angeles' price range but reportedly is on the Raiders' radar.