Hours after Matthew Stafford lost against the Eagles in the Divisional Round, his wife, Kelly, fueled retirement rumors with a heartfelt post that included a cryptic remark about whether this was the end of her husband’s playing career. “I’m wondering if this is the end or not… guess we will find out,” she wrote on Instagram.
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A few days later, she has now cleared the air about what has progressed since then in the latest episode of The Morning After. She first put out the fire that was caused by the IG post, admitting that she knows nothing about Matthew’s retirement decision. “When it comes to retirement, I am as much in the dark as everybody else,” clarified Kelly.
However, from her perspective, it might just be time. She believes Matthew could decide to call it a career because their kids are growing up quickly. With Sawyer (7), Chandler (7), and Hunter (6) soon reaching an age where they’ll actively pursue their own interests, Matthew, as a dad, would hate to miss this significant era of his kids’ lives, Kelly expressed.
“The fact that we both now know that there is time for each other, there’s time for him to spend with his girls and as you guys have gotten to know him through this podcast that family’s a lot to him. So I do believe that there is part of of him that is ready because of the fact that the girls are getting involved in things and he does not want to miss out on that.”
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Kelly also added that if Matthew were to call it a day tomorrow, she would be “fu*king proud” of him, considering the career her husband has had in the NFL. The 2024 season was no different. Despite boasting an abysmal 1-4 record that had many fans and analysts writing the team off for the playoffs, Matthew, being Mr. Dependable, did the unthinkable. And this, Kelly believes, could be a good way to hang up his cleats.
“He’s given his life to football and eventually, this is going to happen no matter what. If it’s not this year, it could be the next year and I think you know what, he had a great season this year. So if he wants to go out on that cuz that’s a fu*king proud way to go out when you take your team from one and four to where they were. That is something to be extremely proud of, yeah. So, if he wants to be done, I’m going to fully support it.”
It’s heartening to see Kelly support Matthew under all circumstances. Every time she spoke about the QB’s retirement, one could hear the pain in her voice.
Selfishly, most fans would love to see Stafford play more. With 3,762 passing yards, 20 passing TDs, and leading the Rams to the postseason, the QB has shown enough to make us believe he has enough in the tank for a season or two.
But as Kelly said, family is non-negotiable for Matthew. Regardless of what Stafford decides to do with his career, NFL fans will forever be grateful to the QB for all the joy he has brought with his plays.
