Rams’ Les Snead has more than Matthew Stafford to worry about

If he returns for an 18th season in the NFL, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford will almost certainly demand a significant raise. And receiver Puka Nacua is positioned to potentially break the bank with an extension.

These are just two issues that Rams general manager Les Snead will face in the coming weeks and months as the franchise retools for the 2026 season.

Snead, who with coach Sean McVay signed extensions this week, said Wednesday in a video conference with reporters that “the opportunity to continue to fulfill my responsibility” with McVay and other executives under owner Stan Kroenke was “the opportunity of a lifetime.”

The Rams are awaiting a decision from Stafford, a finalist for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award, to be announced Thursday. Stafford turns 38 on Saturday.

“We’re going to let Matthew decide,” Snead said when asked if he expected Stafford to return. “I think we’ve had some productive conversations with him, so we’re going to give him his space, right, to call it a day, recover, rejuvenate and then figure out, ‘Hey, do we want to get back on that horse again.'”

In 2024, after Stafford delayed his arrival at training camp due to a contract impasse, Rams executives said the team and Stafford agreed his contract situation would be a year-to-year situation. Last year, Stafford and the team reached an agreement on March 1.

Asked if he anticipated a similar timeline this year, Snead said, “I think we all want it to be shorter” than 2025.

“That’s been our vision,” he said, “That’s how we set it up. That’s how when we went through last year and we said, ‘Hey, do we want to continue to work together and partner together and continue to, right, win these special moments together,’ we definitely wanted to put it in place where it wouldn’t be an issue. [dragged] our timeline. »

Stafford is expected to have a salary cap hit of $48.3 in the final year of the extension he signed in 2022 after leading the Rams to a Super Bowl title, according to Overthecap.com. None of his $16 million base salary is guaranteed.

But Stafford is coming off one of his best seasons. He led the league in touchdown passes and passing yards and was voted All-Pro.

Given this performance, does Snead anticipate a request for additional compensation?

“At this point, I think the first part of the equation is simple: ‘Hey, I want to be back, and let’s go. Let’s go hunt and seize and earn these special moments together,’ and then we’ll go from there,” Snead said.

Nacua, defensive lineman Kobie Turner, edgeman Byron Young and offensive lineman Steve Avila are players in the 2023 draft class eligible for extensions.

A few years ago, the Rams took a step back financially in anticipation of this offseason. They’ve already given extensions to running back Kyren Williams, linebacker Nate Landman and safety Quentin Lake, and they currently have a cap hit of $48.2 million, according to Overthecap.com.

Nacua, an All-Pro and finalist for NFL Offensive Player of the Year, earned about $1.1 million in 2025 and is expected to have a salary cap hit of $5.7 million next season. But with his performance over the past three years, Nacua, 24, is on pace to become one of the NFL’s highest-paid players, if not the highest-paid, at his position.

Last March, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase received an extension that included $109.8 million in guarantees and gave him an average annual salary of $40.3 million, according to Overthecap.com.

Snead is familiar with drafted players at similar positions. The Rams then gave record extensions to defensive lineman Aaron Donald, running back Todd Gurley and quarterback Jared Goff.

“He became one of the best,” Snead said of Nacua. “It looks like, ‘OK, this is a pretty simple contract because it’s pretty explicit about where you fit in the ecosystem and in the hierarchy. »

“But there are also so many variables… that come into play, that make things more complex than it seems at first glance. So, again, like a few players that we’ve had in the past… that have been at this level in the ecosystem, you have to start the communication and start working on it to find a win-win solution.”

Cornerback Cobie Durant and safety Kam Curl are among the Rams’ pending unrestricted free agents. Snead said the team would reach out to players whose contracts are expiring before working on extensions.