Matthew

Stafford

The match will be broadcast by Netflix. Per usual, the NFL is quietly claiming more territory outside of the standard Thursday, Sunday, and Monday contests. Week 12 will still have the normal three-game run on Thanksgiving. So far, only a matchup between the Cowboys and Eagles has been announced. The full schedule will be released on Thursday, with plenty of leaks between now and then. The Thanksgiving Eve game could ultimately be a preview of a postseason matchup, given that both the Packers and Rams made the NFC playoffs last year.

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.

Stafford is already under contract for the 2026 season, but the Rams are hoping to sign him to a new extension to keep him under contract beyond next season. The 2025 NFL MVP is entering his age-38 season and playing some of the best football of his career. Last season, Stafford threw for 4,707-46-8 while completing 65 percent of his passes, and had the Rams within a game of the Super Bowl before losing in the NFC Championship Game to the Seahawks. Rams head coach Sean McVay said he believes Stafford could play beyond the 2026 season if he desired to do so. Now, it sounds like both sides are interested in extending his deal to ensure he’s with the Rams if he wants to continue his career next season.

In other words, like last year, expect Stafford to not be given all of the reps in training camp or (likely any of them) in preseason. This is mentioned as Barshop notes that the Rams have yet to address backup quarterback. Kirk Cousins, who was mentioned as a potential backup option, signed with the Raiders late last week. McVay said at the meetings that Jimmy Garoppolo’s return is “less likely than likely.” As things currently stand, Stetson Bennett would be getting a lot of training camp reps with the 1s. We expect there’ll be a different answer than that when it’s actually August, but that’s where things stand now.

A non-update update. It isn’t the deal that it was last year, where thoughts of a Stafford trade became one of the focal points of the combine, but Stafford probably does deserve a contract adjustment after winning the MVP. The Rams would face no constraints to give him a raise, as they enter the offseason with $40 million in cap space before they even make any adjustments. More importantly, there’s been zero talk of him leaving the Rams this offseason.