As rumors of trade swirled, Matthew Stafford's daughters returned home from school and asked him about the questions his friends kept them about his future.
The Rams wanted him, but at their price. The Giants and Raiders wanted him badly, but that requires uprooting a family of six.
It's been a stressful few weeks for the 37-year-old quarterback.
“Three weeks of uncertainty are never fun, whether it's work or life.” Stafford said in the latest episode of his wife Kelly's “The Morning After” podcast. “You have to find something that takes up your time. I've played a lot of golf and tried to exercise. It's like you're sitting there and thinking about all those uncertainties all day long and you're going to get hooked.”
Eventually, Stafford got what the Rams wanted to do to keep their Super Bowl-winning quarterback contract in Los Angeles.
The Giants offered Stafford $9-100 million worth of contracts, but needed less money to stay with the NFC West Champion and a potential Super Bowl candidate.
He said, “I'm back.”
“I was talking to Kelly about this process the other day and it can feel like that negative at times. It's difficult. You're going through all of this, but at the same time you're talking to someone and they gave me a similar perspective. You're in your 17th season at 37, and someone is hoping you'll join the team,” Stafford said in his first public comment since choosing to stay with the Rams. “It's a rare event, something I don't take for granted, and I'm disregarding it.
“It's still humble to have a team, and most importantly, the teams I play for the Rams are excited to be part of and lead the way. It's cool and I hope we have had a great season and we'll understand it again next year and continue to play.”
The possibility of Stafford leaving the Rams was centered around his future, with the Rams having restrictions on where he goes on the contract, and Stafford was about to be paid like any other top quarterback.
His original contract was set to make $27 million this season. That's a lot less than most top-level quarterbacks. According to NFL insider Peter Schrager, he would make about $15 million less in his new deal than he sent him to lead the Giants.
Stafford called it a “unique situation,” but he noted the way he and head coach Sean McVay continued to communicate throughout the process.
He knew that the coach wanted him to stay, so McVay knew Stafford didn't want to leave.
Stafford didn't name the team that followed him, but Kelly said she was sure she was pissed that Giants and Raiders fans didn't land him.
The former Georgia star called this interest “humility.”
“It wasn't happening much other than a few combines stuff, but it's a kind of time of death in the NFL, so whenever those things happen, people pick it up and run and get it,” Stafford said. “But I had great communication with Sean all the time, and I don't think it was all that I wanted to hear, nor was it something he wanted to hear.
“He and I knew each other and we went through a lot together, so we had an adult conversation, so in the end, everything was good, especially when we got to know that I was very excited to be back.
Stafford said he is more concerned about his family throughout the process and appreciates the challenges being faster than he had last contract negotiations with the team.
He and his wife agreed that if a similar situation occurs in the next offseason, it would be even shorter.
“I don't want to shorten myself, I don't want to promise anything,” Stafford said. “Obviously I can't do that, but I feel good and I feel like I'm playing decently.”
