The Los Angeles Rams have entered the 2025 season in a bit of a weird spot with one foot in two different timelines. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as the Rams are set up to compete now, but have pieces in place to sustain success through the next era. At the same time, it can make things confusing as far as committing to one particular timeline.
This is a young roster with two of its most important pillars moving forward under the age of 24. Those pillars are wide receiver Puka Nacua and edge
rusher Jared Verse. By trading back in the 2025 NFL Draft with the Atlanta Falcons, the Rams were able to pick up an extra 2026 first round pick in what is supposed to be a much better quarterback class.
Still, this is a roster set up to compete. The Rams were 14 yards away from hosting the NFC Championship game against the Washington Commanders. They were the team that got the closest to knocking off the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. During the offseason, the Rams committed to Matthew Stafford by re-doing his contract and giving him more guaranteed money. With that move, it seemed clear that the Rams wanted to squeeze everything left out of Stafford and try to push for one more Super Bowl title with the star quarterback.
Operating in two different timelines is easier said than done and at some point the Rams may need to commit to and prioritize one of them. Is this a team that’s looking ahead to 2026 and this season is more of a bridge year than some want it to be? Conversely, is this a team that truly sees itself as a contender?
Both of those aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, but holding on to both also sacrifices each timeline’s potential. The Rams may have already sacrificed the potential of one in favor of the other and may be on the verge of doing the same to the timeline that they presumably committed to originally.
Heading into the 2023 season, general manager Les Snead consistently brought up the idea of building around three pillars on the roster. Those three pillars were Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald. Said Snead entering 2023,
“When you have someone like Matthew Stafford, players like Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald, there’s some weight-bearing walls there that we still have, and we’re going to rely on those — don’t want to put pressure on them — and then at some point remodel around them with maybe different teammates, different partners.”
We are now two years removed from that quote and Donald retired after 2023 while Kupp was cut this past offseason. Kupp has been replaced with a younger version in Nacua and Donald replaced by Verse. The only original wall still standing is Stafford.
It would make sense if the Rams wanted to commit to that younger timeline, but that’s not what happened when they re-did Stafford’s contract in March. The Rams easily could have traded Stafford away for draft picks and then had a transition year with Jimmy Garoppolo or Aaron Rodgers for a quarter of the price. That would have set the Rams up to remain competitive on a week-to-week basis and potentially set themselves up for a better draft pick in a good quarterback class. Instead, the Rams committed to the idea of Stafford and the upside of postseason success.
Still, it’s worth wondering how committed the Rams are to that timeline. Again, during the draft the Rams acquired a second first-round selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. That pick will presumably be used to help put the Rams in position to draft a quarterback that becomes Stafford’s successor. However, as I wrote after that trade was made,
“The benefit of the extra first round pick is that it gives the Rams options and they now have flexibility. They won’t be forced into taking a quarterback in what is a bad quarterback class. By adding a 2026 first round pick, Snead gave the Rams options for the future and the now. It immediately became the team’s most important asset in the direction that they choose to take.”
The extra first round pick was never and never should have been just about a quarterback in the 2026 draft class. Snead has been notorious for trading away draft picks for proven talent. That extra first round pick in 2026 also gives them flexibility to make that type of move. However, there is still an idea that the Rams’ first round picks in 2026 are more important or more valuable than a player that could potentially help give the Rams a second Lombardi Trophy with Stafford.
With that being said, are fans ok with just competing this year and once again losing in the divisional round or is there a point where it would be acceptable for the Rams to borrow from 2026? In that same line of thinking, is that completely off of the table because of the post-Stafford implications?
What it comes down to is whether or not it’s believed that the Rams got significantly better by adding Davante Adams and Poona Ford in combination with the development of second and third year players. Is that enough to close the gap between the Rams and Eagles?
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Rams currently have the sixth-best odds to win the Super Bowl. Being one of the top five or six Super Bowl contenders can’t be taken for granted. This isn’t to say that the Rams should completely sacrifice their future in the same way that they did in a sense in 2021. Lines are thin in the NFL and even if a move is made with the idea to win a Super Bowl, it doesn’t guarantee hoisting the trophy on the final Sunday of the season. Still, if a team is one of those top five or six, should they do whatever they can within reason to capitalize on that moment?
There’s no doubt that what the Rams do at quarterback post-Stafford is certainly important. The last thing that the Rams want to do is follow the path of the Pittsburgh Steelers in which they are forced into a quarterback and then end up in quarterback purgatory. The New England Patriots ended up in a similar situation after Tom Brady. It’s a thin needle to thread.
Even if the Rams do keep the extra first round pick for 2026, there’s no guarantee that the quarterback they want is available or that the player becomes a franchise quarterback. Arch Manning is a player that the Rams are reportedly targeting. All signs currently point to Manning staying in school another year. Cade Klubnik, LaNorris Sellers, and Drew Allar are potential options. All three of them aren’t going to hit. There’s risk involved there as well.
It’s very possible that the Rams have already committed to the future timeline and this is more of a bridge year than some may want it to be. There isn’t a wrong answer when it comes to which timeline the Rams should prioritize. The point here is that there’s going to come a time when the Rams need to prioritize one of them. This is a team that has the flexibility to pivot if the opportunity arises. Whether they choose to capitalize on that opportunity could define both the end of the Stafford era and the beginning of what’s next.
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