Rams GM Les Snead prepared for life after Matthew Stafford

SANTA CLARA — With general manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay locked in on new multiyear contracts, the Rams have turned their attention to quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has a big decision to make.Does he return for an 18th NFL season or call it a career?Does he commit for another year, maybe even push for a new contract that pushes his 2026 compensation from $42 million, which is middle of the pack for NFL quarterbacks, to the going rate of $55 million to $60 million for a quarterback of his stature?Or does he walk off into the sunset and a life that provides all the time he needs with his wife, Kelly, and their four daughters?Whatever the 37-year-old Stafford decides to do will shape how Snead and McVay attack the offseason.“Because there will be two different teams, with or without Matthew,” Snead said Wednesday.California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedInCalifornia Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, XCalifornia Post Opinion California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!California Post App: Download here!Home delivery: Sign up here!Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!Those are two entirely different vantage points from which Snead and McVay will approach free agency and the draft.With Stafford, it’s about balancing the right now and the future.Adding pieces that accentuate a Stafford-led team but without losing sight of a soon-to-be Rams world that no longer includes one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks.On the other hand, if Stafford pushes the fast-forward button and creates a crater-sized hole at quarterback, the club’s roster-building approach changes dramatically.

It won’t be a full rebuild, necessarily, but clearly a world filled with far more questions than answers.Do they trade for an impact veteran quarterback or aggressively use the draft to identify and develop Stafford’s heir apparent?“At the macro level, when Matthew’s on the horse, we go, let’s make the most of our time with M...