The Rams were never supposed to be in the position they were on Sunday. After going 1-4 in the first five weeks, things looked dull, but they somehow managed to win the NFL West title and proceeded to embarrass the Vikings in the wildcard match-up. However, their run was ruined on a snowy afternoon in Philadelphia. They lost 22-28 to the Eagles, and this brought up many questions about QB Matthew Stafford. Let us not forget he recorded just three TDs and the same amount of interceptions in the first five games. Is his fate in danger?

Moments after the defeat in Philly, Stafford was asked to express his thoughts on how his future would look like after Sunday’s disappointing loss. And let’s just say the Rams QB still had lots of confidence in his capabilities:

“As far as my future goes, I mean it’s 30 minutes after the last game so I’ll take some time to think about it, but I feel like I was playing some pretty good ball,” he stated, as reported by Joey Wagner – Steelers Streamer on YouTube.

For real, Stafford had a good game, throwing for 324 passing yards and 2 TDs without a single interception, and had a 97.2 passer rating. But when he was pressed again by the reporters asking if he still had football left in him, Stafford simply said, “Sure feels like it,” with a smile on his face.

While Stafford’s numbers do look pretty from the outside, he also struggled a bit on the offense. His running back, Kyren Williams, had just fumbled the ball, resulting in an Eagles field goal. Stafford joined him in the subsequent drive by fumbling the ball himself on a sack he took from Nolan Smith. The Eagles recovered this loose ball and scored another field goal to take a 22-15 lead. And it ultimately proved too much for the Rams to come back from.

But with regard to the QB’s future, there are some things we need to consider. As good as he has been for his team, he will turn 37 on Feb.7. Additionally, his contract had been restructured in the offseason in such a way that it allows both sides to either go separate ways or negotiate and come to common grounds for a new deal. And his current contract suggests that there is no guarantee that he will be back the next season.

Now, despite everything that happened with Stafford on Sunday. His contributions to the Rams cannot be questioned; he finished his season with a commendable 64.7 QBR. The 36-year-old threw for 3,762 passing yards while chipping in with 20 TDs. Although his 8 interceptions could still be a worry, the Rams don’t really have a replacement lined up to take Stafford’s place. So, there is a probability he will be back next season. But what did Sean McVay say about him?

Sean McVay keeps LA guessing about Matthew Stafford’s future…

When it was time for HC McVay to share his stance on the probability of Stafford returning next season, the 38-year-old just outright refused to speak on the QB’s future. Instead, he praised his QB for playing through a rib injury he suffered in the first half.

“I’m not really interested in talking about anything as it relates to next year,” the head coach stated about Stafford’s future. “Right now, I’m just appreciative of this team.” But talking about his team, he stated:

“I just didn’t see it go any other way than us earning a couple more opportunities to play, and that’s tough because you don’t get that. I think you saw. There were some times where some uncharacteristic things in terms of the ball handling.”

“We had two turnovers that probably don’t necessarily occur in different elements. A couple of drops. You could see when Saquon got to the second level, it was similar to the first game, but there were some different layers in our defense. He was able to pull away but you know, but they had to play in it too, we had to play in it.”

See, there was a time in the third quarter when Stafford found two of his targets on the first and third downs. But both Tyler Higbee and Puka Nacua ended up dropping the ball and then came those costly turnovers in consecutive Rams’ possessions.

Those negative plays and Saquon Barkley’s 72-yard run ended the Rams’ hopes of winning yet another Super Bowl. Sean McVay will go back to the drawing board and analyze what could have been better. There are positive signs for the Rams to look up to and $46.6M in salary cap space. So, they could bring in some much-needed reinforcements to strengthen the roster. Will a replacement for Stafford be one of them?