Even with Matthew Stafford returning for the 2026 season, the Los Angeles Rams are going to be a fascinating team to watch at the quarterback position this offseason. The Rams are looking into options as Stafford's backup, and they have some really strong choices still out there on the veteran market with less than a month before the 2026 NFL Draft.
One of the most interesting potential options outside of simply bringing back Jimmy Garoppolo would be bringing in veteran Kirk Cousins, whose ties to Sean McVay go all the way back to their time in Washington during Cousins' early years in the league.
In fact, it was the ascent of Cousins as a franchise QB with Washington that became one of the top contributing factors to McVay ultimately getting hired by the Rams in the first place. Now, they have a chance to possibly reunite after a decade apart. And McVay himself seems to like the idea.
Sean McVay hints that Rams could add Kirk Cousins as Matthew Stafford's backup in 2026
Rams HC Sean McVay says he has kept Matthew Stafford involved in conversations about the team's future at QB@heykayadams pic.twitter.com/laYCvql6xw
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) March 30, 2026
This discussion between Sean McVay and Kay Adams is a really good one. McVay is always very honest and forthcoming when it comes to the way the Rams do business, and this is some great insight into his thought process behind building the quarterback position for the long haul while not doing so at the expense of the moment.
Things are going well for Matthew Stafford right now. There's no reason to have anything get in the way of that. Bringing in another veteran like a Kirk Cousins would make so much sense from a scheme standpoint as well as a relationship standpoint.
And Cousins sees the game as well as anybody. He might not be throwing for over 4,000 yards like he once did, but Cousins will be an asset to any quarterback room in the NFL. And for a team like the Rams, he can be even more valuable. If Stafford goes down at any point, Cousins is someone they could legitimately rely on.
He'd add a lot to that Rams team, which is obviously one of the teams poised to really make a deep run this season.
They've already added Trent McDuffie to address their biggest roster need, and as McVay points out, they've still got the 13th pick in this year's draft. McVay doesn't agree with the sentiment that they're back on the "F*** Them Picks" trajectory, but they've certainly set themselves up well after that trade.
And the backup QB position is now in focus, because history has shown that most teams will need that guy for at least a game or two at some point. For the Rams, a reunion between McVay and Cousins makes so much sense.