One of the most important needs remaining on the Los Angeles Rams’ roster is a player they hope never has to see the field.

The Rams need a backup quarterback for Matthew Stafford. Where they end up going to fill the void could tell a lot about their future plans at the game’s most important position.

Los Angeles has a quarterback returning from the season of his life. Stafford won his first MVP award by leading the NFL with 4,707 passing yards, 46 touchdowns and getting the Rams just a few yards short of a return to the Super Bowl in a 31-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game.

But Stafford is now 38, and he’s already contemplated retirement. He’s in a spot in his career where he and the Rams take it year by year. That brings advantages in managing the salary cap for the kinds of all-in pushes the Rams are making with stars such as All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie.

It also leaves a cloud over the future at the most critical position.

“You think about it short and long term,” Rams coach Sean McVay said of the quarterback position. “Look, (Stafford) has earned the right to be on a year-to-year basis. If he told me that he wanted to play a couple more years, I’d believe him. If he told me one more year, he’s earned that right. We understand that, and we’re grateful that he’s our quarterback.”

The Rams have two needs developing: They need a backup they can trust to replace Stafford if he gets hurt, and they need an heir for Stafford when he decides to hang it up. That could be the same quarterback, or two different ones.

Here are the paths available right now.

Path 1: Re-sign Jimmy Garoppolo (or find similar option)

The smoothest route for the Rams would be to bring Garoppolo back. He knows McVay’s system after spending the past two seasons with the Rams, and after starting 55 games in a similar one for the San Francisco 49ers. That 49ers run included six playoff starts, including a Super Bowl appearance, putting Garoppolo in a category few backup options can offer, and that nobody in this year’s NFL Draft can match.

The problem is that Garoppolo’s situation is not in their hands. He is weighing options in free agency, knowing he can only play in Los Angeles if an injury occurs. He will also turn 35 in November, has made $155 million in his career and could decide he no longer wants to live the backup life for any team.

“At this point, when there hasn’t been a decision, it feels less likely than likely,” McVay said of the possibility of Garoppolo returning. “But I don’t want to rule that out.”

The Rams believed strongly in Garoppolo’s ability to step in and perform if Stafford has to miss time, which became a real possibility when he missed most of last training camp with a degenerative back issue. If Stafford misses a month of the regular season, Los Angeles would want to be able to go 2-2 or better in that stretch to keep pace in arguably the NFL’s most difficult division.

That security matters with an older quarterback who has a back issue and has suffered major injuries in four of his 17 seasons. It’s also one of a few reasons Stetson Bennett, the other quarterback still on the Rams’ roster who has played zero regular-season snaps, is not an option for the role right now. It’s hard to envision him getting higher than No. 3 on the depth chart.

The Rams sought out a similar alternative to Garoppolo this spring in Kirk Cousins, who played for McVay in Washington and has nearly as much experience as Stafford. But the Rams fell out of the running when the Las Vegas Raiders were willing to offer Cousins a contract he couldn’t refuse.

The Rams’ options are dwindling if Garoppolo doesn’t come back. Russell Wilson has a strong resume, but he’s several years and multiple teams removed from playing at an inspiring level. Tyrod Taylor has long been trusted as a high-end backup, but he’ll turn 37 in August and has only started one playoff game.

Last month, the Philadelphia Eagles traded a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Carolina Panthers for Andy Dalton. That kind of trade could be something the Rams explore, particularly after the draft.

However, given what the Rams value, a trade would for an experienced veteran would be more likely than for a rehabilitation project like Anthony Richardson.

Path 2: Draft a quarterback in the first two rounds

The Rams loaded up on capital for this year’s draft to prepare for a potential Stafford retirement. But the landscape has changed quite a bit in a year.

Not only is Stafford back for another season and at the peak of his powers, but this year’s quarterback class isn’t nearly as strong as anticipated, with names such as Texas’ Arch Manning, Oregon’s Dante Moore and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers returning to college.

As such, the Rams have already spent from their surplus by sending out the No. 29 pick and two other selections to the Kansas City Chiefs to land McDuffie.

Los Angeles does still have the No. 13 pick, the highest it has been this close to a draft since 2016. But because it is such a high pick, there exists some hesitation toward spending it on a backup in a year with Super Bowl aspirations.

Alabama’s Ty Simpson is projected to be the second quarterback taken off the board in this year’s draft. (Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

The draft has one intriguing name in the back half of the first round: Alabama’s Ty Simpson. He fits the profile of a draft-and-stash quarterback after just one season starting in college, though he showed plenty by throwing for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns and just five interceptions in leading Alabama to the second round of the College Football Playoff.

Still, the No. 13 pick appears too rich for Simpson, who is often projected as a late first-rounder. If Los Angeles falls in love with Simpson as a future starter, it could look for a trade back in the first round that would net Simpson later. That kind of trade could bring Day 2 capital to address multiple needs, such as wide receiver and linebacker.

But it would also mean that for a second straight year, the Rams would be spending their top draft pick on a stashed player after trading back to take tight end Terrance Ferguson in 2025. The Rams also can’t predict how much longer Stafford will play. If it’s multiple years, they could get through half of a high draft pick’s rookie contract before using him.

If the Rams are without a backup quarterback entering the draft, this path becomes more likely because Simpson could fill both needs as a present backup and future starter.

Path 3: A hybrid approach

The Rams could sign a veteran as a backup and draft a developmental quarterback. It just wouldn’t be their normal mode of business.

Los Angeles has trusted its starting quarterback spot to a No. 1 overall draft pick every season since 2016 while never trying to identify a first-rounder to draft and develop as a future starter.

Granted, at Stafford’s age, this marks the closest the Rams have been to needing a replacement in more than a decade. They have a strong infrastructure to develop one, with Stafford and new assistant head coach Kliff Kingsbury, who has worked  recently with young quarterbacks such as Kyler Murray and Jayden Daniels, to serve as teachers.

LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Penn State’s Drew Allar and Miami’s Carson Beck could be options later on Day 2. If the Rams become more open-minded to dual-threat options, which is a possibility given Kingsbury’s involvement, they could look to someone like North Dakota State’s Cole Payton.

This approach would allow the Rams to address their remaining needs at the top of the draft before targeting a quarterback in Rounds 2-4. They could view Nussmeier or Beck as ready to be a high-level backup.

This doesn’t feel like the most likely scenario. But if Garoppolo isn’t an option to sign, the Rams could look at second- or third-rounder as strong enough to be their No. 2, given the alternatives.

As a result of this class shrinking, 2027’s is expected to be one of the strongest in years. That makes the Rams’ first-round pick next year highly valuable, though they are making moves this offseason as if they expect it to be one of the final picks of the first round.

As the Rams play things year to year with Stafford, it appears they’re taking the same approach to the position as a whole.