It's all over. After speculating as to whether the LA Rams could trade Matthew Stafford to the Pittsburgh Steelers, we now have our answer. On Friday, NFL Insider Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports reported that the Rams and Stafford have agreed to an arrangement that will keep him in Los Angeles. ESPN's Adam Schefter confirmed the news.
This is a disheartening blow to Steelers fans. Pittsburgh was one of the teams rumored to be interested in trading for the veteran quarterback. Now those hopes have been shattered.
Mike Tomlin's team is looking to snap an eight-year drought without a playoff win, and Stafford could have been the quarterback to do so. In two postseason games in 2024, the 37-year-old whipped the pigskin for over 500 yards while throwing four touchdowns and zero interceptions for a quarterback rating of nearly 105 in the playoffs.
In addition to the impressive way he ended his 2024 campaign, Stafford is just four years removed from a Super Bowl title with the Rams. He would have given the Steelers hope—at least for the next two seasons.
Now what does this team have to look forward to at the quarterback position?
Despite Matthew Stafford sticking with LA Rams, the Pittsburgh Steelers can't go back to Russell Wilson
Matthew Stafford was the clear choice to lead this team had Stafford and the Rams not come to an agreement and a trade ensued. Instead, the Steelers are left to pick up the pieces. Currently, Pittsburgh only has one quarterback (Skylar Thompson) under contract, and it's unclear what the plan will be.
Omar Khan reiterated at the NFL Combine that he would love to get a deal worked out with either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields to return for the 20025 season, but running it back with Wilson, in particular, is a futile effort.
As a 36-year-old on a $1.2 million contract in 2024, Wilson wasn't enough to get the job done. The Steelers averaged 14 points per game over the final five contests (including the playoffs) while scoring zero points in the first half against Baltimore in the Wild Card game.
What makes the Steelers think it will go better this time around—when Wilson is 37 years old and eating up significantly more of Pittsburgh's valuable cap space?
Sadly, quality options are limited with Stafford out of the picture. Unless the Steelers are willing to fork up for a one-year-wonder journeyman like Sam Darnold, they could be out of luck. Most Steelers fans would agree that rolling with Justin Fields—who was benched after Week 6—would be better than reverting to Wilson in 2025.
Regardless of what they do, this makes for a disheartening quarterback situation for the Pittsburgh Steelers this year. Matthew Stafford would have cracked open their window to compete with aging players like T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward (who need to win now). Instead, the window slams shut until the front office can find a quality quarterback option.