{"id":730742,"date":"2026-02-05T08:20:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T08:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/730742\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T08:20:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T08:20:07","slug":"rams-les-snead-has-more-than-matthew-stafford-to-worry-about-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/730742\/","title":{"rendered":"Rams’ Les Snead has more than Matthew Stafford to worry about"},"content":{"rendered":"

If he returns for an 18th NFL season, Rams<\/a> quarterback Matthew Stafford<\/a> will almost certainly demand a significant raise. And receiver Puka Nacua<\/a> is positioned to potentially break the bank with an extension.<\/p>\n

Those are just two issues Rams general manager Les Snead<\/a> will deal with in the coming weeks and months as the franchise retools for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

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Snead, who along with coach Sean McVay signed extensions this week<\/a>, said Wednesday during a videoconference with reporters that the \u201copportunity to continue shouldering my responsibility\u201d along with McVay and other executives for owner Stan Kroenke<\/a> was \u201cthe opportunity of a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rams are waiting on a decision by Stafford, a finalist for the NFL most valuable player award that will be announced Thursday. Stafford turns 38 on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to let Matthew decide,\u201d Snead said when asked if he expected Stafford to return. \u201cI think we\u2019ve had productive conversations with him, so we\u2019re going to give him his space, right, to let\u2019s call it, recover, rejuvenate and then determine, \u2018Hey, do we want to get back on this horse again.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2024, after Stafford delayed his arrival to training camp because of a contract impasse<\/a>, Rams executives said the team and Stafford agreed that his contract situation would be a year-to-year situation. Last year, Stafford and the team came to an agreement on March 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Asked if he anticipated a similar timeline this year, Snead said, \u201cI think all of us want it to be shorter,\u201d than 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been our vision,\u201d he said, \u201cThat\u2019s how we set it up. That\u2019s how kind of when we went through last year, and we said, \u2018’Hey do we want to continue working together, partnering together and chasing, right, grabbing earning those special moments together,\u2019 we definitely wanted to set it up where it wouldn\u2019t be a [dragged] out timeline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stafford is scheduled to carry a $48.3 salary-cap number in the final year of the extension he signed in 2022 after leading the Rams to a Super Bowl title, according to Overthecap,com. None of his $16-million base salary is guaranteed.<\/p>\n

But Stafford is coming off one his best seasons. He led the league in touchdown passes and yards passing and was voted All-Pro.<\/p>\n

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Given that performance, does Snead anticipate a request for more compensation?<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, I think the first part of the equation is a simple, \u2018Hey, I want to be back, and let\u2019s go. Let\u2019s go chase, grab and earn those special moments together,\u2019 and then we\u2019ll go from there,\u201d Snead said.<\/p>\n

Nacua, defensive lineman Kobie Turner<\/a>, edge rusher Byron Young<\/a> and offensive lineman Steve Avila are players from the 2023 draft class who are eligible for extensions.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, the Rams pulled back financially in anticipation of this offseason. They have already awarded extensions to running back Kyren Williams, linebacker Nate Landman and safety Quentin Lake, and they currently have a $48.2-million in cap space, according to Overthecap.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Nacua, an All-Pro and finalist for NFL offensive player of the year, earned about $1.1 million in 2025 and is scheduled to carry a salary-cap number of $5.7 million next season. But with his performance the last three years, Nacua, 24, is positioned to become one of the NFL\u2019s highest-paid \u2014 if not the highest-paid \u2014 players at his position.<\/p>\n

Last March, Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja\u2019Marr Chase received an extension that includes $109,8 million in guarantees and gave him an average annual salary of $40.3 million, according to Overthecap.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Snead is familiar with drafted players in similar positions. The Rams awarded then record-breaking extensions to defensive lineman Aaron Donald, running back Todd Gurley and quarterback Jared Goff.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s evolved into one of the best,\u201d Snead said of Nacua. \u201cIt seems like, \u2018OK, that\u2019s a pretty simple contract because it\u2019s pretty self-explanatory where you fall in the ecosystem and the hierarchy.’<\/p>\n

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\u201cBut there\u2019s also so many variables \u2026 that go into that, that make it more complex than it would seem on the surface level. So again similar to a few players that we\u2019ve had in the past \u2026 that have been at that level in the ecosystem, you\u2019ve got to begin communication and begin working through it to come up with a win-win solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cornerback Cobie Durant and safety Kam Curl are among the Rams\u2019 pending unrestricted free agents. Snead said the team would address players with expiring contracts before working through extensions.<\/p>\n

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.<\/a><\/p>\n

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If he returns for an 18th NFL season, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford will almost certainly demand a significant…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":730743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2079],"tags":[4094,105617,1214,256,11728,7,1029,26857,3418,4076,3308,1014,58,2444,2611,32,8802,6,1088,20582,424,20581,3416,8747],"class_list":{"0":"post-730742","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-rams","8":"tag-aaron-donald","9":"tag-brynn-anderson","10":"tag-byron-young","11":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","12":"tag-cobie-durant","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-jared-goff","15":"tag-kam-curl","16":"tag-kobie-turner","17":"tag-kyren-williams","18":"tag-les-snead","19":"tag-los-angeles","20":"tag-los-angeles-rams","21":"tag-losangeles","22":"tag-losangelesrams","23":"tag-matthew-stafford","24":"tag-nate-landman","25":"tag-nfl","26":"tag-puka-nacua","27":"tag-quentin-lake","28":"tag-rams","29":"tag-steve-avila","30":"tag-the-rams","31":"tag-todd-gurley"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116017052062436143","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=730742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/730743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=730742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=730742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}