"What you don't want to do is ever force a guy to play if, in his mind, he's ready to move on. But you don't want to minimize that, hey, if you do decide to play, let's make sure it's here with us. Have two years of a good relationship, and so this isn't necessarily new news to us, but it is something that we want to be able to give him his time, and he knows where we stand."The Rams don't have a clear backup quarterback behind Stafford and have all-but exhausted their free-agent options at the moment.

The team was eyeing Kirk Cousins and Garoppolo this offseason, but Cousins signed with the Las Vegas Raiders. With only Stetson Bennett is the only quarterback under contract at the moment while the Rams work on Stafford's new deal.Garoppolo, 34, reportedly had interest from the Arizona Cardinals, but negotiations "hit a snag" at some point during free agency. Despite the recent report, the Rams said they knew about Garoppolo's potential retirement."We've had good dialogue [with Garoppolo and his representatives]," McVay said.

"No timeline. Wanted to be able to give him his time. He knows that he's a really important part of what we want to do and part of those plans, and hopeful that the contemplation is that, and that when the time is right, he'll change his mind."McVay has said in the past that Garoppolo is a starter in the NFL and even admitted he would be comfortable with Garoppolo running the offense if Stafford missed time. It's unclear if he feels the same way about other quarterbacks on the roster or in the free agency pool, or even the draft.The next question will be whether the quarterback position is addressed in the 2026 NFL draft.This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Sean McVay will 'leave the door open' for Jimmy Garoppolo-Rams reunion