Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay had an interesting suggestion at the NFL Annual Meeting on March 30 for who could back up Matthew Stafford next season.
Stafford, 38, dealt with a back injury last season; there was serious speculation about his future as the season came to a close. The Rams only have one backup on the roster, but several veteran options in free agency. McVay mentioned a couple of players he would like to reunite with, including veteran Kirk Cousins.
McVay said it is entirely possible Stafford could continue playing for several more years.
“But we also have to be prepared that if this is the last year, what does that look like as well?” he said, according to the team’s official website.
An obvious option is to re-sign veteran backup Jimmy Garoppolo.
“I don’t have a perfect answer for you. We think about it. What does that look like?” McVay said. “Hey, I‘d love to have Jimmy Garoppolo back with us. That’s a big deal for us. He’s earned the right to be able to take his time and do whatever he wants. Is there an opportunity to explore, if it’s not Jimmy, Kirk Cousins? Of course. I’d love to be able to be able to see what that looks like. So those are two guys we’ve talked about.”
Garoppolo, 34, is a free agent, but he spent the past two seasons with L.A. as Stafford’s backup.
He appeared in the Rams’ season finale against the Seattle Seahawks in 2024, going 27 of 41 passing for 334 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception in the 30-25 loss. He played in three games in 2025, but was only on the field to kneel the ball down at the end of games and did not attempt a pass. With several years of experience as a starter with the San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders, Garoppolo is a prime candidate for a team in need of a veteran starter.
“I genuinely don’t know that,” McVay said when asked about a reunion with Jimmy G. “I don’t know that. I would say, at this point, when there hasn’t been a decision, it feels less likely than likely, but I don’t want to rule that out. And so that’s where you say hey, he’s earned the right to be able to take his time and move forward accordingly in whatever that next chapter is for him in football.”
At 37 years old, Cousins, like Stafford, is on the tail end of his career. He suffered a torn Achilles with the Minnesota Vikings in 2023 that severely hampered his play with the Atlanta Falcons in 2024. He completed 303 of 453 passes for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions in 14 games. He went 7-7 in that span and was benched in favor of rookie Michael Penix Jr. for the final three games of the 2024 season. Cousins served as Penix’s backup in 2025 and started 8 games when he went down with a season-ending injury. He completed 166 of 269 passes for 1,721 yards, 10 TDs, and 5 picks, going 5-3 as a starter.
“Those are things that we’re very interested in possibly exploring, but again, it’s really premature,” McVay said of Cousins. “I know Kirk has some other options and opportunities as well, but he’s a guy that I have familiarity with, history and a lot of reverence for because of the gratitude from our experiences together.”
Cousins has some familiarity with McVay’s offense: Cousins was drafted by the then-Washington Redskins in 2012. At that time, McVay was the tight ends coach under head coach Mike Shanahan. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2014 under Jay Gruden, and helped develop a young Cousins in their time together before taking the job with the Rams in 2017.
Without a veteran addition, the Rams have only one backup quarterback on the depth chart, third-year pro Stetson Bennett IV.
Bennett is undersized for the position at 5'11 and 192 pounds, but has a National Championship pedigree from his time with the Georgia Bulldogs and has shown significant flashes in preseason action.
In seven preseason appearances with six starts, Bennett completed 121 of 195 passes for 1,296 yards and 8 TDs. He had 5 in the 2025 preseason, tied for the lead; he was second in passing yards with 512, third in completions with 44, and fifth in passer rating at 105.7.
