The Los Angeles Rams are entering one of the more interesting periods of the Sean McVay era. When McVay arrived in Los Angeles, he inherited a quarterback in Jared Goff. While the Rams seemed set to move on from Goff after 2020, it was still a relative surprise when they traded for Matthew Stafford. It’s very possible that 2025 could be the final year for Stafford. Even if it’s not, with two first-round picks in next year’s draft, the Rams may be looking at rookie quarterbacks to take over.
Still,
it’s important to remember that the Rams also haven’t boxed themselves into a corner. The Rams CAN draft a rookie quarterback if that’s the route that they want to go. They CAN use one of those first-round picks for a player to help with the current Super Bowl run. Additionally, they CAN use those picks to trade for a proven quarterback as well. In fact, it would be less surprising for the Rams to trade for a quarterback in some sense rather than sit at whatever draft pick and settle for the player that falls to them.
Since general manager Les Snead joined the Rams in 2012, their Week 1 quarterbacks have been:
- Sam Bradford – Inherited
- Shaun Hill – Signed as free agent
- Nick Foles – Acquired via trade
- Case Keenum – Acquired via trade
- Jared Goff – Acquired No. 1 overall pick via trade
- Matthew Stafford – Acquired via trade
Again, the path forward for the Rams is very flexible and they haven’t forced themselves into a certain box. Depending on how McVay feels about the roster post-Stafford, he may want another veteran quarterback that gives the team the best chance to win immediately. He may not want to wait three years for a rookie quarterback to develop. That’s the same mindset that McVay had with Goff following 2020. The Rams traded for Stafford to speed up that development process.
On Thursday, the Dallas Cowboys traded away their star defensive edge rusher in Micah Parsons. If the Cowboys are blowing up their current roster, Matthew Stafford retires after 2025, and McVay doesn’t want to sit through the development process for a rookie quarterback with a competitive roster, Dak Prescott could be an intriguing option.
Acquiring a quarterback like Prescott in that scenario would be the same thought process in trading for Stafford. In 2026, the Rams will have Jared Verse in year three along with Puka Nacua and Kobie Turner in year four. Is it worth using up three years of their primes to wait for a young quarterback to develop? At that point in 2028, Verse would be 26, Turner would be 29, and Nacua would be 27. That’s not old by any means, but a rookie quarterback also shortens their window.
Heading into next year, Prescott would be 33 years old which is the same age that Stafford was when the Rams traded for him five years ago. Some of the narratives surrounding Prescott are also eerily similar. The biggest pushback for Prescott joining the Rams is that he can’t win in big games. It’s hard to forget that a certain Rams quarterback had the same monkey on his back prior to arriving in Los Angeles.
Additionally, Prescott would make a lot of sense as a McVay quarterback. He is one of the few “field generals” left at the position with the ability to be an extension of the offensive play-caller at the line of scrimmage. Something that McVay values is being able to trust his quarterback pre-snap. Prescott is one of the best at diagnosing defenses.
Prescott may have a bigger spotlight on him because he played for the Cowboys. However, it’s worth remembering that Prescott was second in MVP voting in 2023. That was just a little over 12 months ago. For a player that has crumbled in big moments, since entering the league in 2016, Prescott ranks seventh in fourth-quarter EPA per dropback and fourth in success rate.
The big things with Prescott are his ability to stay healthy and his contract. Prescott hasn’t played back-to-back full seasons since 2018-19. He also signed a contract last offseason, averaging $60 million per year. The Cowboys’ quarterback has a cap hit if $74 million in 2026. Logistically, acquiring Prescott may not even be possible at that price.
However, this isn’t necessarily about advocating for a trade for Prescott. Simply put, this type of move is likely on the table as much as drafting a rookie quarterback is. That player could be Trevor Lawrence or even Baker Mayfield.
Watching the Rams navigate this next era of Rams football will be an interesting one. Nobody knows what McVay would value in a rookie quarterback or if that’s even what he wants. The only thing certain is that nothing can be ruled out.
