Feb. 21, 2026, 6:01 a.m. PT
There are plenty of things the Los Angeles Rams need to do in the 2026 offseason. Between filling positions of need to re-signing players and drafting future stars, general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay have a laundry list of items to attend to if they want to get back to the Super Bowl in (potentially) Matthew Stafford’s final NFL season.
Sports Illustrated’s Gilberto Manzano has just one move the Rams need to make first: do right by Stafford and Puka Nacua. Stafford is making $40 million in 2025, but Manzano recommends the Rams make sure he gets more money if that’s what he wants. The same goes for Nacua, who is eligible for a contract extension this offseason after leading the league in receptions in 2025.
If Stafford asks for $60 million next season, the team should gladly give it to him to maximize this latest Super Bowl window it has created after advancing to the NFC title game, where it fell to Seattle.
L.A. should rush to do Nacua’s contract because the price tag could be going up for wide receivers. There’s a star wideout in Seattle also in need of a second contract. Currently, Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase is the highest-paid wide receiver with an annual salary of $40.2 million.
We already know Nacua’s extension is a priority for the Rams this offseason, and Nacua could set the new market if he wants to reach Chase’s number. Stafford’s contract, meanwhile, is 16th in the league in average annual value. He may look for a little bump in that number given he and the team effectively agreed to a year-by-year contract situation after the 2025 offseason standoff.
Once those two stars are settled, the Rams should have a good understanding of their salary cap situation when it comes to the rest of the offseason. More extensions could follow, like Steve Avila, Kobie Turner and Byron Young, but Stafford and Nacua are easily the most important players on the Rams’ roster heading into 2026.
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