With the Rams opening their season on September 11 at 10:35 a.m. in Australia, the offseason has officially run out of road. Matthew Stafford is back to work, Kelly Stafford is clearly feeling the end of summer a little harder, and FOX Sports host Charissa Thompson, a close friend of both Staffords, made the nostalgia hit even more by posting a photo dump of the memories they squeezed in before the NFL grind took over again.

Thompson posted a photo carousel and captioned it, saying, “Summer, you were one to remember ♥️.” To that, Kelly Stafford replied, saying, “Welp… seeing it again just makes me so sad it’s over.”

The bond between the Staffords and Thompson goes beyond a few offseason vacations. Matthew and Kelly Stafford actually helped set Thompson up with Steven Cundari after deciding she needed a better dating option, and that friendship was on full display again in June 2026 when the group vacationed at Baker’s Bay in the Bahamas with Erin Andrews and her husband, Jarret Stoll.

Andrews later shared photos from the trip on Instagram, giving fans an early look at just how close the group had become before the NFL season pulled everyone back into work mode.

And the Bahamas was not the only escape Matthew and Kelly Stafford squeezed into the offseason. Back in February, the couple joined Rams coach Sean McVay, his wife Veronika, and a group of friends at the El Dorado Golf and Beach Club in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

But those offseason getaways are now in the rearview.

The Rams are about to open their 2026 season against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia, with the game set for the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It will also mark the first-ever NFL regular-season game played in Australia, giving Stafford a historic stage to kick off another season.

The NFL has nine international games planned for 2026 and could increase that number to 10 games starting in 2027.

Roger Goodell also wants every NFL team to play at least one game outside the U.S. each season. That would mean 16 international games every year. The NFL is already working with Visit Victoria, Victoria’s official tourism company, to host NFL games in Melbourne, showing that Australia could remain an important location for future international games.

This is going to be an interesting season for Stafford as the Rams are pulling every move to win another Super Bowl with him. They traded important draft picks to get stars like Myles Garrett and brought Aaron Donald back from retirement.

He is also coming off an outstanding season. Matthew Stafford won his first NFL MVP award after throwing for 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns.

But with that, his retirement chances are also increasing drastically. He is 38 years old, which makes his future in the NFL uncertain, and with talks with his close ones, it can be a real thing.

“My body feels pretty good, luckily, which is great,” Stafford said on Pat McAfee Show back in May. “Those conversations are family things. I talked about those with my wife and my kids. They love watching me play; they want me to keep doing it as long as I feel good and I feel excited about it, which I am.”

Stafford’s contract also makes his future uncertain. He signed a one-year, $55 million extension that keeps him on the team through 2027. That means the Rams and Stafford will both have to think about what happens after this season.

The Rams have quarterbacks behind Matthew Stafford, but they do not have much experience. Stetson Bennett IV and Ty Simpson are the two players who would have to step in if Stafford could not play. Because neither has much NFL experience, losing Stafford with no proper backup is a major issue.

For now, the focus remains on Matthew Stafford’s 2026 season and how it will pan out for him.