The Rams avoided the QB controversy that the Packers and Dolphins couldn’t get around in training camp
The Los Angeles Rams knew that quarterback Matthew Stafford was unhappy with his contract, but the one thing that L.A. could count on was the fact that quarterbacks virtually never hold out or “hold in” when they want an upgraded deal.
Never say never.
As the Rams came to a re-worked agreement with Stafford to get the quarterback in camp by Tuesday’s apparent deadline, the Green Bay Packers continue to practice without franchise quarterback Jordan Love over a contract dispute. Even if the two sides come an agreement on Thursday, the team is still wasting valuable time with backups like Sean Clifford, Jacob Eason, and rookie seventh rounder Michael Pratt as the only quarterbacks in camp.
The young quarterback who is signed for only $10.5 million this year and nothing next year will not practice with the team until he is given a new deal.
Jordan Love deal is “pretty close,” we’re told. Not done yet, but moving in that direction. And both sides have every reason to expedite an agreement and get him on the practice field.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) July 25, 2024
Love isn’t the only one either.
Tua Tagovailoa is now two days into making the Miami Dolphins practice without him unless he gets a new contract extension. The Dolphins must instead rely on backup Mike White to run the first team offense.
New: Tua Tagovailoa does not throw during the second day of Dolphins training camp as his contract negotiations continue.
Yesterday Tua participated in team drills but not 11 on11. A new approach for the QB@WPBF25News pic.twitter.com/3mkmLouvbP
— Yianni Kourakis (@WPBF_Yianni) July 25, 2024
Are Love and Tua doing the right thing?
From a personal business standpoint, holding in makes sense for their financial futures. From the perspective of being the most important players on their respective teams as training camp begins and their teammates are looking for leadership in the locker room, Love and Tua’s negotiating tactic could cost the Packers and Dolphins valuable time to mesh headed into the season.
Meanwhile, Sean McVay hinted around the possibility that Stafford would have stayed out of 11-on-11 drills if the Rams didn’t give him a satisfactory offer, but because the two sides made a deal on the first day of camp, we’ll never have to find out.
The Rams were able to meet Stafford somewhere in the middle and to some degree Stafford was able to set aside his financial concerns in order to help the team in a way that Love and Tua are not willing to do right now.
#Packers QB Jordan Love at practice, but won’t practice until the deal gets done. ✍️ pic.twitter.com/RUwsmM00kS
— Marques Eversoll (@MarquesEversoll) July 22, 2024
All signs this offseason were that Stafford did not let the contract talks become a distraction for the rest of the team as they gear up for what they hope is a third Super Bowl appearance since 2018. He was available throughout OTAs and the offseason, which McVay reiterated was a big deal for the Rams.
Love, on the other hand, is losing valuable time with his young teammates as he sits out of practice.
“We certainly understand where he’s coming from,” Packers GM Brian Gutekunst explained to reporters on Monday. “We’d like him to be out there. It’s important for him to be out there. Obviously you guys know how important practice is, and working with his teammates. But as of now, until we get that resolved, he will not be practicing.”
While Love’s deal will likely get done before the start of the season because the Packers need him so badly and he actually is underpaid, Tagovailoa might not be so simple.
Tagovailoa is set to make $23 million on the fifth-year option and the Dolphins can franchise tag him for two more years after this, so Miami holds all the cards. Tagovailoa presumably wants at least $53 million per season, the same that Jared Goff got from the Lions this offseason, but he’s been an injury concern every year since his college days at Alabama. Tua played a full season in 2023, but missed at least four games in each of his first three seasons in the NFL.
Will the Dolphins call his bluff, which is basically all that Tua can do because his NFLPA negotiated a CBA that basically gives all control to the team in these situations, and wait until he reports? Or will they pay him $55 million per season on a new contract because he’s exercising his right to stop practicing and costing the team valuable reps with the quarterback? Will the Packers give into Love’s demands before teammates start to think that Sean Clifford is now the starting quarterback now because that’s the only player they see practicing?
BREAKING: Tua Tagovailoa was present but did not take part in practice today (@WPBF_Yianni) #GoFins pic.twitter.com/0OYF1VRm3R
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) July 25, 2024
Regardless of what was going on behind and in front of the scenes in Miami and Green Bay, LA’s veteran quarterback handled his situation with poise and professionalism, while the Rams made sure to get their quarterback in camp on time by finding a happy middle ground. Love and Tua’s unprecedented tactic for a quarterback to stop practicing until he gets a new contract has certainly raised the bar for how professional you can be if you don’t hold out or hold in.
And certainly lowered the bar, if you do.