LOS ANGELES -- As Los Angeles Rams players stood in the locker room after their divisional round loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, a sense of shock filled the air.

Down six points with 1 minute 14 seconds remaining, the Rams had been just 13 yards away from a win that would send them to a NFC Championship game. That game would have been at SoFi Stadium, an unlikely opportunity for a No. 4 seed that had their first playoff game moved to a neutral site as wildfires ravaged Southern California.

"It just seemed like a lot of things were going to maybe line up for us to be able to host an NFC Championship," head coach Sean McVay said in his end of season press conference. "Everything that this team has gone through, everything that our city's gone through that's a lot bigger than football, it just seemed like things were going to line up in a fairytale type of way.

"I think the hard part about it is the finality of nope, it didn't go down that way."

Instead, McVay spent his Thursday morning answering questions about the end of the season and the future of the team, specifically the futures of two players general manager Les Snead has called "weight-bearing walls" for his Rams team: quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp.

Stafford, who just finished his 16th NFL season and fourth with the Rams, said after the loss to the Eagles that he will take his time to consider his NFL future. And when asked whether he could definitively say that unless Stafford retires, he would be playing for the Rams next season, McVay said, "We'll talk about all those things at the appropriate time."

Kupp, who has played his entire career under McVay, said after the season ended that he will definitely play next season. While he would love for it to be with the Rams, whether that happens is out of his control. Snead declined to say whether the Rams would ask Kupp to take a pay cut to stay in Los Angeles or trade the wide receiver, saying, "those are all issues we really have to sit down and talk through."

The Rams showed this season that they can compete with the best teams in the NFL, but whether they can build on that next season and be considered a Super Bowl contender is likely contingent on whether Stafford is back for Los Angeles.

McVay didn't have a specific timeline for an answer on Stafford's future -- either in the NFL or with the Rams -- but he said the team is hoping for clarity "sooner than later" this offseason. Snead said the leadership group for the Rams -- himself, McVay, team president Kevin Demoff and VP of football and business administration Tony Pastoors -- will sit down after taking time to "rejuvenate" after a long football season and discuss what is next for the team.

"The quarterback is always the first thing in mind as it relates to how you move forward with the team," McVay said. "I think [Stafford's] playing really good football and like I said, when we get back, we'll talk about all those types of things but I'm sure proud of the body of work and really proud of the way that he's played.

"I think the coolest thing you can say about Matthew is he shines the brightest on the biggest stages. When you look at the seven playoff games that he's played in since he's been a Ram, he certainly gives you a chance every time you step out on the field, and for that I'm sure appreciative."

The defensive side of the ball for the Rams went through a similar change the last two offseasons. In March 2023, the Rams traded cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins in an effort to gain financial flexibility in the future. A year later, future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald decided to retire after 10 NFL seasons, leaving a big hole in the Rams' defense.

In the last two seasons, the Rams have totally changed the structure of how their defense is built after going through a time where the highest-paid players took up "a good chunk of cap and cash," Snead said.

Now, the Rams have a core build of players on their rookie deals -- defensive linemen Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske, outside linebackers Byron Young and Jared Verse and safety Quentin Lake -- for a unit that took a big step forward this season under new defensive coordinator Chris Shula.

And while there's no doubt this team -- even one that may look very different at the start of next season on the offensive side of the ball -- believes they can build on the playoff run they made this season, McVay was clear he doesn't take for granted how difficult it was for the Rams to be "on the precipice of hosting an NFC championship."

While the journey of the 2024 season was hard -- from 1-4 to a divisional round playoff loss -- McVay said, "it was worth it." And despite the loss, McVay said he knows whoever is a part of this Rams team next season will continue to build on what the group learned during the 2024 season.

"I think when you put so much into something, that's why it takes so much out of you," McVay said. " When you come up a little bit short or when the journey ends a little bit sooner than what you want... I know this about myself and everybody else that we're talking about, they'll put themselves out there all over again because even though it's hard and these feelings kind of suck, it's all worth it."