Rams beat: ‘Backup quarterback race is on’

Stafford’s degenerative back issue cost him almost all of training camp last year, yet he “returned and cast those fears aside with the best season of his life.” The Rams have reportedly realized how well the time off served Stafford, as a “critical form of load management,” and plan to do some of that again this year. Per Atkins, this has been the plan for some time, and it explains why the Rams tried to sign veteran QBs like Jimmy Garoppolo and Kirk Cousins, “and why they valued the backup role enough to help justify spending the No. 13 pick on QB Ty Simpson.” In other words, don’t be alarmed if we see Simpson taking a few first-team reps this summer. Stafford remains a locked-in QB1. However, we will, of course, track all of his notable offseason developments here at Rotoworld.

The SEC coach, speaking to ESPN anonymously about the 2026 quarterback class, said he was surprised Simpson was the 13th player off the draft board but compared him favorably to Matthew Stafford, who will remain LA’s starter in 2026. “It’s a great fit for him from a system standpoint, and who he’s going to be behind for a year,” the SEC coach said. “There’s a lot of similarities [with Stafford]. [The pick] was the biggest [surprise], a guy who didn’t have a ton of starts, but when he played, he played well. His long game is going to be really good.” Not every college coach was bullish on Simpson’s NFL prospects. One SEC defensive coordinator said it was more difficult to prepare for Jalen Milroe than it was to get ready to face Simpson. “He’s not ready to go be a starter in the NFL right now, he’s got work to do,” the coordinator told ESPN.

This should put to bed any rumors that McVay was caught off guard by the Rams taking Simpson with the 13th overall pick in the 2026 draft. “They wanted to make it private and didn’t want people to know that they were interested,” Simpson told ESPN Radio on Monday. Simpson said he was told by members of the Rams organization not to tell anyone the team was interested in taking him as an heir apparent to Matthew Stafford, who will start for LA in 2026 and possibly 2027. That McVay hosted hours-long top-secret meeting with Simpson likely means he’s fully bought into the rookie as the future of the Rams. Simpson, 23, could spend his first two NFL seasons on the bench, however.

The Rams drafted former Alabama QB Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick last night, and were quick to assure fans that Stafford is their starting quarterback “of the present and the future.” Getting a multi-year deal done as soon as possible should quiet concerns about his status with the team. Stafford is currently under contract for only the 2026 season.

It’s hard to ignore how disenchanted McVay looked at the press conference following the team’s decision to draft the heir apparent to Matthew Stafford in the first-round of the draft on Thursday night. McVay, was quick to point out that “this is Matthew’s team” when asked about the pick, and didn’t appear too interested in discussing the selection when pressed. Despite these things, Fowler said sources familiar with the situation believed McVay was “absolutely” on board with GM Les Snead’s decision to make the selection, with another adding that the two were “in lockstep” the entire way. Only time will tell how things unfold from here, but given the overall shock of he pick and McVay’s first reaction after, it’s understandable that people have questions about where things stand between McVay and Snead, who have made a handful of “win now” moves this offseason after falling just short of appearing in the Super Bowl last year. Simpson is unlikely to see the field much in 2026 barring an injury to Stafford and could be stuck for multiple years behind Stafford should he opt to play beyond next season.

Rodrigue, during an NFL Daily podcast discussion about the Rams taking QB Ty Simpson with the 13th pick in the first round of the 2026 draft, said the Rams have traditionally operated with a level of hubris uncommon in pro football. “I don’t say that as an insult,” Rodrigue said. “Because they have job security and continuity they have built a reputation of going and trying things, of shooting their shot.” Rodrigue described the Rams’ first-round selection of Simpson as “really surprising” considering the offensive line and defensive holes the team has to fill for 2026 and beyond. Rams head coach Sean McVay has said the starting quarterback job belongs to Matthew Stafford going into 2026, and that Simpson will compete with Stetson Bennett for backup duties. Simpson has almost no chance of playing this season unless Stafford, 38, goes down with injury.

Reports from earlier today indicated the Rams might be interested in drafting Simpson, and general manager Les Snead reportedly told Simpson’s parents that the former Alabama quarterback was worthy of being a first-round pick. We figured they could bring him aboard via a late-first-round pick, but evidently, the team was set on snagging him as soon as possible. Simpson spent three seasons as a college backup before earning the starting role last year. He now heads back to the QB2 spot until Stafford, 38, moves on. Earlier this week, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the Rams and Stafford “have made significant progress on a new extension.” He is currently under contract through 2026.

We’re used to being surprised, but this is one of the most stunning drat picks of the 21st century. Simpson (6’1/211) was actually connected to the Rams earlier on Thursday, but we assumed it was for either a trade-in or Day 2 pick. Simpson spent the first three years of his career as a backup at Alabama but was finally given a chance to start in 2025. The former five-star prospect displayed immediate potential, throwing for 2,934 yards and a 22:4 TD:INT total through his first 11 games while leading Bama to a 9-2 record. He played well on the road against a good Georgia team (276/2) on his way to a win, and also pulled off road wins against Missouri and Auburn. Unfortunately, he struggled down the stretch, throwing for 633/6 in his final four games while completing just 57.1 percent of his passes and taking 10 sacks. A one-year sample size makes Simpson a tough evaluation, but when he was at his best, he displayed mostly good decision-making while making NFL-caliber throws against some of the top teams in the nation. Much like another former one-year starter at Alabama (Mac Jones), Simpson is a mechanically sound quarterback who doesn’t possess an elite arm. His 6.2 ADOT on completed passes is below average for recent QB prospects, but his career 42.9 completion percent on deep passes suggests he can air it out a bit when needed. With only one year of starting experience under his belt, Simpson has plenty to learn while developing at the next level. Time will tell if he’s a franchise-changing player or another Alabama quarterback who eventually falls by the wayside. The Rams, clearly, believe it’s the former, though we fully expect Matthew Stafford to remain the starter for 2026.

Per Rapsheet, that’s what Snead told Simpson’s father when the Crimson Tide product was mulling leaving Alabama for the draft. We are getting a little into hearsay territory here, but it does raise the question of whether the Rams could be a dark horse contender for Simpson’s services. Coach Sean McVay has telegraphed for years he would like to draft Matthew Stafford’s successor, but aside from a Day 3 flier on Stetson Bennett, he hasn’t gotten around to it. Any Simpson/Rams selection, of course, would be highly unlikely to occur at No. 13, and would instead take place via some sort of late-first or early-second round trade up. Rapsheet does confirm despite this Rams nugget that the Cardinals and Jets remain Simpson’s most likely landing spots.

Connecting the dots of publicly available information, Wolfe points out the Jets gave Simpson a private workout and attended his Pro Day. They also reportedly had dinner together and have “liked what they have (seen)” in general. Simpson has little to no shot of going to the Jets at No. 3 or 16, but Gang Green also owns picks No. 33 and 44. New York and Arizona make by far the most sense for who seems to be the draft’s clear QB2. Although the Jets are undoubtedly dreaming of next year’s supposedly better quarterback class — a draft in which they have three first-rounders — a Day 2 Simpson flier would make a ton of sense.