Rams asking price from Giants for Matthew Stafford is either absurd or completely fake

Rumors have abounded for the past several days surrounding the Los Angeles Rams and quarterback Matthew Stafford. Will the team keep the 37-year-old around for another campaign, or will it clean house? The strongest indicator of the latter is Los Angeles' already revealed desire to trade star receiver Cooper Kupp.

But while the quarterback might indeed be on the trading block this offseason, one major aspect of the rumors surrounding Stafford right now simply don't add up. The team the QB has been most often linked to in recent days has been the New York Giants, and while New York is, indeed, a QB-needy team, it owns the No. 3 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft and is expected to select a rookie passer.

New York popped up on the public radar recently after the team hired Stafford's brother-in-law, Chad Hall, as their new assistant quarterbacks coach. But that seems to be the only tether to reality in the Stafford-Giants connection.

Rams reportedly want Giants' No. 3 pick and more in exchange for QB Matthew Stafford

Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd claimed on his show Thursday that he "made a couple of calls and a couple of texts" regarding the swirling Giants-Rams rumors. He said the Giants "don't like this quarterback [draft] class" and are interested in bringing in Stafford to win now.

What would that cost? The Giants' No. 3 pick. Now, Cowherd clarified he was just proposing a potential sequence of events that could transpire based on things he was hearing. He claimed a well-respected NFL executive didn't think it was "crazy" for that kind of a trade to go down.

Cowherd detailed a domino effect that would start with Los Angeles trading Stafford (and a package of picks) to New York in exchange for the Giants' No. 3 overall pick and more. He believes the Rams would flip the No. 3 pick for more draft capital in order to move up and select a rookie passer in the 2026 draft.

But where does that leave the Rams at the QB position in 2025? Enter the newly available Aaron Rodgers. Cowherd said Rodgers would make sense as a rental to finish out his career and transition the franchise as it re-adjusted its roster.

And in the end pigs will fly. As much as Cowherd said he was just proposing an idea, whatever intelligence he gathered on the situation cannot be grounded in reality. New York general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll cannot mortgage their jobs on an aging Stafford, who, despite still being able to sling it, is not the sort of long-term solution the Giants desperately need.

Giving up the No. 3 pick this year, even in a weak draft class at QB, is a decision New York cannot make lightly, and there are much better options out there. For instance, why not acquire more draft capital just like the Rams want to and use that to get a better rookie QB in 2026? Cheaper free agent passers are available and could serve as some sort of improvement in the win column for 2025.