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Matthew Stafford signed a one-year, $55 million extension with the Rams as they eye the Super Bowl at SoFi, while Aaron Rodgers confirmed this will be his final NFL season in Pittsburgh. Rashee Rice is jailed for a probation violation during his ACL
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Welcome to The Sports Hangover Daily, I'm Michael Benatar. Today on the show: Matthew Stafford gets paid like the MVP he is and the Rams are set up to run it back at home, Aaron Rodgers says this is officially it, Rashee Rice is in jail instead of rehabbing his knee, and the Knicks just took a two to nothing stranglehold on Cleveland. Let's get into it.
Let's start in LA because this one hits close to home. Matthew Stafford and the Rams agreed to a one-year extension worth fifty-five million dollars, up to sixty million with incentives. That gives him two years and up to a hundred and five million remaining. And honestly? He earned every penny. Stafford led the league last year with forty-seven oh seven passing yards and forty-six touchdowns against just eight picks. That ratio is insane. That performance won him his first MVP in his seventeenth season — one of the best late-career arcs I've ever seen. He's now sixth all-time in career passing yards, seventh in career touchdowns. The guy just keeps climbing. And what makes this even better for the Rams — they drafted Ty Simpson out of Alabama at thirteen to eventually take over. So you've got your franchise quarterback locked in for two more years, you've got the heir apparent learning behind him, and oh by the way, Super Bowl sixty-one is at SoFi Stadium. Their home building. If you're Sean McVay, you're looking at the next two years and thinking nobody in football has a better setup right now. Stafford's timeline is short, but everything's lined up. The Rams are the team to beat in the NFC until someone proves otherwise.
NFL news — Aaron Rodgers told reporters Wednesday that this is it. His final season. The four-time MVP is forty-two, turns forty-three in December, and he's coming back to Pittsburgh on a guaranteed twenty-two million dollar deal. He said he thought it was over when Mike Tomlin stepped down after that blowout playoff loss to Houston in January. But then the Steelers hired Mike McCarthy, and Rodgers apparently nudged GM Omar Khan to make that call. So now Rodgers is reunited with McCarthy, his old coach from Green Bay, for one last go. Pittsburgh also drafted Drew Allar out of Penn State in the third round and has been talking up Will Howard from last year's class. So the succession plan exists. But this year is Rodgers' show. One more season, and then he walks away. We'll see if he actually means it this time.
Rashee Rice is in jail right now. Not at a facility rehabbing his knee. In the Dallas County jail. He tested positive for THC, which violated his probation from that highway crash two years ago. The court ordered thirty days starting May nineteenth. He's not getting out until June sixteenth. And on top of that, he just had a cleanup procedure on the same knee he tore his ACL in. That sidelines him for two months. So he's sitting in a cell instead of doing rehab during the most critical stretch of his recovery. He caught fifty-three passes for five seventy-one and five touchdowns in eight games last year after a six-game suspension. He's entering the final year of his rookie deal. And the Chiefs have to be looking at this thinking — can we even count on this guy? The talent doesn't matter if you can't stay available. Kansas City has been patient, but there's a limit.
On the trade front — A.J. Brown to the Patriots is still simmering. June second is the date to watch. Philly wants a first-round pick. Kyle Pitts is on the franchise tag in Atlanta with a new coaching staff, and Schefter name-dropped him as a trade candidate. Spencer Rattler might be available in New Orleans after they brought in Zach Wilson. And the Cardinals named Jacoby Brissett their starter, but he's holding out of OTAs over a contract dispute. Lots of dominoes waiting to fall.
Over to the NBA — the Knicks handled Cleveland one oh nine to ninety-three in Game two to take a two to nothing series lead. Josh Hart went off for a playoff career-high twenty-six points on five three-pointers with seven assists. Hart was the engine for New York all night. And Jalen Brunson finished with fourteen assists running the offense. The Knicks went on an eighteen to nothing run in the third quarter and led by as many as nineteen. Cleveland had no answer. The Cavs looked flat, they looked rattled, and now they're heading home down two games to zero. That's a brutal spot for a team that was supposed to be the class of the East.
Here's your Hangover Take. The Saints are quietly becoming the most chaotic roster in football and nobody's paying attention. They signed Travis Etienne but won't commit to Alvin Kamara. They're shopping Spencer Rattler after acquiring Zach Wilson. Tyler Shough is apparently the expected starter. Bobby Wagner's name is out there in trade talks with the Niners and the Bears. This team is stripping it down to the studs while pretending they're not rebuilding. Dennis Allen is gone. The new staff inherited a mess. And instead of just saying "we're rebuilding," they're doing this weird middle ground where they won't commit to anyone but also won't officially tear it down. Pick a lane. Either go all-in on young guys and stockpile picks, or commit to your vets. This in-between stuff is how you end up going six and eleven for three straight years and wondering what happened. New Orleans has too much talent to be this directionless. Kamara deserves better. Wagner deserves better. And whoever starts at quarterback in September — good luck, man.
That's your hangover. Go hydrate. I'll see you tomorrow.