The Pittsburgh Steelers brought in veteran quarterback Russell Wilson in 2024 because he had experience getting to and winning the Super Bowl.
Say what you want about the execution, but it was the right idea for a Steelers franchise that has struggled to draft and/or find their next franchise quarterback. Considering the QB draft class isn’t considered to be all that strong in 2025, perhaps Pittsburgh should try this method again — except with a more talented former Super Bowl champion.
While co-hosting his show, “Unsportsmanlike,” on January 30, ESPN radio personality Evan Cohen petitioned Steelers general manager Omar Khan to pick up the phone and investigate a potential trade for Los Angeles Rams star QB Matthew Stafford.
“I mean, if you’re Pittsburgh and you hear this news [Stafford’s] coming back, you’re not making the call?” Cohen questioned on Thursday.
Later, he added that the Steelers and Minnesota Vikings would make the most sense if the Rams decided to trade Stafford. Arguing that those are destinations “that I would feel like — ‘Hey, if we have Stafford, we’re really close [to a Super Bowl].”
Would Rams Consider Trading Matthew Stafford? And Would His Impact Get the Steelers Over the Hump?
There are two obvious questions when it comes to a Stafford trade.
One, would the Rams ever consider moving him? And two, is Stafford that much better than Wilson or Justin Fields?
Let’s start with the latter. At age 37 in February, Stafford is actually several months older than Wilson, but the two represent a similar option.
Neither Wilson nor Stafford is all that mobile at this stage of their respective careers — which is important behind Pittsburgh’s offensive line — and both led their teams to a 10-7 record in 2024.
The major difference is that Stafford started slow and finished strong, winning a playoff game at a neutral site in Arizona. While Wilson started strong and then flamed out completely, ending the campaign on a massive losing streak.
Stafford also started more games — although he did miss half the season a couple of years ago in 2022 — and his 2024 total QBR rating (64.7) was much better than Wilson’s (51.3) according to ESPN. Needless to say, most Steelers fans would probably take Stafford over Wilson in a heartbeat, even if there’s no guarantee the end result would be any different.
As for if the Rams would trade him, that feels less likely at this time.
On January 29, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport relayed that he has a “hard time imagining” that Stafford would play on what’s left of his restructured $160 million contract, being that it only includes $4 million in guaranteed salary.
To be clear, he didn’t suggest a belief that the Rams would trade Stafford, but he did note that they have some work to do on his current deal.
As of now, Los Angeles has given no indication that they’d be willing to move on from Stafford, but it never hurts to check in.
Realistically, What Would It Take for Rams to Trade Matthew Stafford?
Connecting the dots, the only way this has any shot of happening is if the Rams and Stafford struggle to come to terms on a reworked contract. In that scenario, Los Angeles could theoretically decide to cut bait on the veteran signal-caller, trading him while they still can.
Although the Rams are currently projected to have a similar amount of cap space as the Steelers in 2025 (approximately $2 million less), they’d free up an extra $4.33 million if they dealt Stafford prior to June 1 — plus whatever draft capital Pittsburgh offered.
A post-June 1 trade of Stafford would be much more lucrative for LAR, but that would never happen in the case of the Steelers. Pittsburgh has made it very clear that they want to have a quarterback locked up before the start of free agency, meaning any sort of Stafford trade would have to materialize over the next month and change.
