Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated revealed on Monday that the Los Angeles Rams gave the camp for quarterback Matthew Stafford permission to speak with other teams during the week leading up to Super Bowl LIX to “see who’d be willing to give up trade compensation and a big, new contract to land the 37-year-old star.” Specifically, Stafford reportedly wants to receive a pay raise that would involve him earning over $50M per season.

However, ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler reported during a Monday “SportsCenter” appearance that other clubs aren’t convinced that Stafford would orchestrate an exit from the Rams if his contract requests aren’t met by Los Angeles before the new league year opens on March 12.

“As of now, cooler heads could prevail,” Fowler said about the Stafford-Rams situation, as shared by Troy Montgomery of Steelers Depot. “Both sides do want to shake something out. A lot of other teams I’ve talked to, including teams that need a quarterback, are skeptical that Stafford would leave the Rams.”

Earlier this month, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said during an edition of the “Talkin’ Ball with Pat Leonard” podcast that the Rams’ “first priority” regarding their quarterback situation was locking Stafford down via an extension. Last Monday, Breer noted that “some folks close to” Stafford believed at that time he wanted “to remain in Los Angeles and play for” head coach Sean McVay.

Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports wrote last week that sources said “McVay and the organization want to keep” Stafford, and Cleveland Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported over the weekend that she believes “the Rams will probably end up re-signing” the one-time Super Bowl champion.

On Monday afternoon, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio mentioned that Stafford’s camp could “learn what a team would pay if that team didn’t have to give up draft picks and/or players to get him” and subsequently push for the veteran to be released with a post-June 1 designation.

There’s no indication as of the final Monday of February that Stafford is eager to find a new NFL home this offseason, and it seems that some teams believe they’re essentially being used by his representatives so he can receive the deal he wants from the Rams before the 2025 draft gets underway.