With the Los Angeles Rams falling in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks, there is at least some question about quarterback Matthew Stafford’s future with the team. However, head coach Sean McVay clearly did not want to talk about it.
In his postgame press conference, McVay was asked rather directly about his expectations regarding Stafford’s future with the team.
“Do you expect Matthew Stafford to be back next season?” a reporter asked McVay.
McVay was clearly not thrilled at the question, and he let the reporter know.
“I mean, if he still wants to play,” McVay answered, via Pro Football Talk. “What the hell kind of question is that?”
To be fair, after expressing his displeasure, he did at least give the question a more substantive answer while mostly deferring to Stafford.
“You have to ask him,” McVay said. “We’ve been totally present. I know that if he wants to, he’s still playing at a pretty damn good clip. I mean, he’s the MVP of the league, and if he’s not — you know, I mean, I got respect for everybody else, but this guy played at a level that’s just different.”
Stafford was also asked about his future after the loss. His answer was less snappy than his coach’s, but no more revealing.
“I can’t generalize six months of my life ten minutes after a loss,” Stafford said.
While Stafford does have one more year on his contract, the two sides have been operating on more of a year-to-year arrangement. There was some debate as to whether or not Stafford would even be back with the team this season, as the veteran quarterback was the subject of trade rumors throughout the offseason.
So, it was probably a fair question for both McVay and Stafford, though it’s understandable why neither one of them would want to talk about it just a few minutes after a playoff loss.
For what it’s worth, NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday that Stafford was indeed planning to return to the NFL next season, regardless of the result of Sunday’s game.