PHOENIX – Rams head coach Sean McVay on Monday said the team is still interested in a reunion with backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but that they have also expressed interested to Kirk Cousins and Cousins' agent, Mike McCartney, about that role as well.
McVay's answer within his response to being asked if he has to think about life after Matthew Stafford, and talking about balancing the short- and long-term dynamic of it in terms of maximizing Stafford's time by surrounding him with the right kind of players, but also what the contingency plan looks like moving forward.
"And I don't have a perfect answer for you. We think about it. What does that look like?" McVay said at this year's NFL Annual Meeting. "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, (like) 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 became an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year March 11 after his one-year deal he signed with the Rams last offseason expired. He has served as Stafford's backup each of the last two seasons.
"I genuinely don't know that," McVay said, when asked if he expects Garoppolo to be back. "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."
Cousins, meanwhile, became a free agent on March 11 after the Falcons released him with a post-June 1 designation. A 15-year veteran, he would also be familiar with Los Angeles' offensive system, having overlapped with head coach Sean McVay in Washington from 2012-16 and was Minnesota's starting quarterback in Kevin O'Connell's first two seasons with the Vikings in 2022 and 2023.
Through 15 NFL seasons, Cousins has completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 44,700 career passing yards and 298 passing touchdowns against 131 interceptions.
"Those are things that we're very interested in possibly exploring, but again, it's really premature," McVay said a potential reunion with 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."
McVay said quarterback Stetson Bennett "has continued to come a long way," but thinks Stafford is in a situation where it wouldn't surprise him if he played more than one year.
"But we also have to be prepared that if this is the last year, what does that look like as well?" McVay said.
