SAN FRANCISCO — Matthew Stafford waited until the end of his speech to make the announcement, letting the room breathe, letting the night belong to everyone else first. Then came the mic-drop truth bomb: He wasn’t satisfied with how it ended, with the Rams falling short against the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game, and he wasn’t done chasing another Lombardi Trophy. He would be back for an 18th NFL season in 2026.
The ballroom at NFL Honors exploded. Sean McVay sprang out of his seat and punched the air toward the camera, a man whose entire future had just snapped into focus. Applause rolled through the room, half shock, half relief.
One person, though, barely flinched.
That’s because Puka Nacua already knew.
The Rams’ All-Pro wide receiver revealed Friday on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show at Radio Row” that Stafford had quietly tipped him off long before the MVP speech ever reached a crescendo. A secret sworn into existence between quarterback and favorite target.
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“Matthew is the absolute best,” Nacua told McAfee and crew. “I knew he was coming back, and I still almost did a front flip in front of my mom. It was too awesome.”
That’s the thing about Stafford’s announcement — it landed like a surprise, but it was rooted in intention. The decision wasn’t impulsive. It was calculated, felt, shared selectively. When McAfee pressed him on who else knew, Nacua laughed, half proud, half unsure.
“I wouldn’t say everybody knew. I hope he didn’t tell everybody, I wanted to feel special,” Nacua said. “I thought the conversation we had was just between me and him, but who knows.”
That exchange says everything about the Rams right now. Trust. Continuity. A quarterback still hungry, a receiver still wide-eyed, and a head coach who suddenly doesn’t have to imagine a different future.
Stafford returning reshapes the NFC West and steadies Los Angeles at a moment when franchises across the league are scrambling for certainty at quarterback. For Nacua, it means another season with the only starting QB he’s ever known in the NFL. For McVay, it means unfinished business gets another chapter.
And that chapter will include a game far from home — but with the Rams as hosts. Los Angeles will play next season in Melbourne, Australia, in the first NFL regular-season game played in the country, against the 49ers.
