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Jared Verse kept it real when discussing Matthew Stafford's decision to return to the Rams in 2026

For all intents and purposes, the Los Angeles Rams had a very encouraging 2025 campaign. And yet, coming up short in the NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks left a bad taste in this team’s mouth. As a result, they are widely expected to come out guns blazing in 2026 in an effort to return to the top of the proverbial mountain in the NFL.

Whether the Rams would remain a championship contender next season hinged heavily on star quarterback Matthew Stafford‘s retirement decision. Stafford revealed after winning the 2025 MVP Award, though, that he’d be back for at least one more year, and it sounds like that decision has lit a fire under superstar linebacker Jared Verse.

Jared Verse’s Fired Up Reaction to Matthew Stafford’s Retirement Decision

Stafford has accomplished a lot throughout his career, but he has never had a season like the one he had in 2025. Stafford led the league with 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns, which helped him win the first MVP Award of his career. Even as he prepares to enter his age-38 season, Stafford is at the peak of his powers, so it seemed unlikely he would retire this offseason.

As long as Stafford is under center, Los Angeles’ offense is going to be able to move the ball up and down the field at will. The unit that will ultimately determine whether or not it will be able to win it all is the defense, which is led by Verse, who has racked up a pair of Pro Bowl selections and the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year Award in his first two years in the league.

Up front, Los Angeles has a solid front seven, and its secondary has been revamped with the offseason additions of cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. The final piece that needed to be added back into the fold was Stafford, and with him under center, Verse knows the 2026 campaign is going to be a “Super Bowl or bust” season.

“I had a good feeling that he was going to come back,” Verse said in an interview with Casino.ca. “I was praying. Knees on the ground, elbows on the bed. Like a little kid praying, ‘Please come back.’ And then I found out when everybody else found out through his award-winning speech. “Kobie (Turner) texted me, Braden Fiske and Byron Young and he was like, ‘Hey, he’s coming back, we gotta lock it. We’ve got to take it to another level now. This is the time.’”

Jared Verse Knows Expectations for the Rams are Sky-High

GettyJared Verse #8 of the Los Angeles Rams.

Championship windows can be slammed shut in the blink of an eye in the NFL, but the Rams have managed to find a sustained level of success over the past few years with Stafford under center. It’s clear that he only has a few more years left in the league, so Los Angeles knows it needs to win as much as it can while he’s still on the field.

L.A. is going to face its fair share of challenges in 2026, especially when considering how it plays in the wildly competitive NFC West division. With the 2026 NFL Draft now in the books, though, the Rams are the clear favorite to win it all this upcoming season, and if all goes according to plan, Verse and the rest of the defense will be able to properly support Stafford as he aims to lead the team back to the Super Bowl.