The 2025 offseason was expected to be a quarterback bloodbath. Justin Fields was looking for a new home, Aaron Rodgers had burned bridges in New York, and Matthew Stafford? Everyone believed that he would be the first domino to fall owing to his pre-restructured salary reportedly not being palatable enough to sustain a family in LA. From the Las Vegas Raiders to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the QB’s name kept coming up in discussions and sky-high contract conversations.

Stafford, however, made up for his MVP-less gridiron presence with a Super Bowl-worthy performance off of it.

During a telling segment on The Rich Eisen Show hours ago, journalist Albert Breer revealed that the Raiders, Giants, and the Steelers encountered the same brick wall: “They [Steelers] did throw their hat in the ring for Matthew Stafford. They were like, you know, pretty much everybody else…that the Giants and Raiders were sort of in this category too, where it was like, ‘Do we really think that he’s going to leave Los Angeles? Do we really think that he’s going to leave Sean McVay?’ No,” Breer said.

“So you know, like they [Steelers] did check back. They did touch base with the Rams about potentially trading for Matthew Stafford, but they never really believed that was going to happen.” Looks like Stafford never put his foot out the door. However, what’s interesting to note is that it was never a game of negotiation, but that of leverage…

Mike Florio of NBC Sports had claimed earlier, “At the end of the day, the Raiders (and to a similar extent the Giants) served as Stafford’s leverage in his effort to get the Rams to give him more money.“ In an attempt to pry Stafford away from Los Angeles and support their own rebuilds, teams had even reportedly offered him guarantees ranging from $90 million to $100 million over a two-year period. Instead, they became pawns.

The outcome? A re-structured two-year contract worth $84 million with the Rams (including $44 million guaranteed money in 2025), effectively locking him in for what might be the final act of his career. Stafford now heads into 2025 with hopes renewed, and another $40 million guaranteed if he remains on the roster in 2026. What that means? Well…

The $84M QB that never came

Matthew Stafford wasn’t just on Pittsburgh’s radar, as Adam Schefter disclosed—he was Plan A, with Justin Fields following closely. And Aaron Rodgers?

“This was the best move that the Pittsburgh Steelers could make right now, but let’s also remember that this was the third option for the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Schefter stressed about the former Jets quarterback’s signing. After a turbulent spring, the Steelers finally offered Rodgers a one-year contract. His arrival in Pittsburgh came as a surprise, and his departure from the Jets was a catastrophe.

In one of the wildest quarterbacking sequences this offseason:

• After experimenting with two teams, Stafford remained with the Rams.
• Fields declined to re-sign with Pittsburgh and chose the Jets.
• Rodgers did end up with the Steelers, but as a third choice.
• And the Raiders missed out on all three.

The result? With a shaky but talented Rodgers, Pittsburgh walks into 2025. Will they be able to make it work? Let us know your predictions in the comments below.