{"id":340162,"date":"2026-05-31T12:25:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T12:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/340162\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T12:25:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T12:25:17","slug":"why-matthew-stafford-wins-in-rams-decision-to-draft-ty-simpson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/340162\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Matthew Stafford wins in Rams’ decision to draft Ty Simpson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Matthew Stafford<\/a> is a master at reading defenses.<\/p>\n

The Rams<\/a> star quarterback manipulates opposing players with his eyes. He knows what he sees.<\/p>\n

So the reigning NFL most valuable player can easily anticipate, recognize and digest why moves \u2014 on or off the field \u2014 are made.<\/p>\n

Which brings us to the Rams\u2019 decision to select former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th pick<\/a> in the NFL draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand where the team\u2019s coming from,\u201d Stafford, 38, told reporters last week in his first public comments about a move that stunned many. \u201cListen, I\u2019m not 25 years old and I get that, so we\u2019re doing everything we can to be as good a football team as we can for now, for the future, for all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean Stafford was thrilled about general manager Les Snead and coach Sean McVay<\/a> spending a first-round pick on his heir apparent.<\/p>\n

This, however, is not the San Francisco 49ers trading for Steve Young with Joe Montana on the roster.<\/p>\n

But the Rams bypassed an opportunity to give Stafford and an already loaded roster another weapon such as former USC receiver Makai Lemon<\/a>, who might have provided immediate impact to help them reach and win Super Bowl LXI in February<\/a> at SoFi Stadium.<\/p>\n

Because the Rams showed five years ago that going all in and winning a Super Bowl was worth it, regardless of the perceived and real costs down the road.<\/p>\n

Regardless, the Rams are considered among the favorites to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since Stafford led them to victory in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.<\/p>\n

Like they did before and during that 2021 season, the Rams have done almost everything possible to ensure that owner Stan Kroenke can once again bask in the glory of winning a Super Bowl in the stadium he built.<\/p>\n

After losing last season\u2019s NFC championship game, the team quickly signed McVay and Snead \u2014 who were entering the final years of their contracts \u2014 to long-term extensions.<\/p>\n

Then they improved their roster\u2019s main weak spot by trading for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, and signing cornerback Jaylen Watson \u2014 both of whom played on two Super Bowl championship teams with the Kansas City Chiefs.<\/p>\n

On May 21, they signed Stafford to a one-year, $55-million extension that could keep him with the team through 2027.<\/p>\n

\"Rams <\/p>\n

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and coach Sean McVay talk during practice on Thursday.<\/p>\n

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Whether the 17-year veteran and reigning NFL most valuable player plays beyond 2026 remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

But McVay is happy that the future hall of famer will be leading the offense.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to be able to have that taken care of,\u201d McVay said in his first news conference with local reporters since April 24, the day after the Rams drafted Simpson.<\/p>\n

McVay had spent the previous availability explaining the reason for his somber and dour countenance during an awkward news conference the night before. McVay said he was trying to be respectful of Stafford\u2019s status as the team leader, and that a personal situation also had affected his demeanor.<\/p>\n

On the night the Rams drafted Simpson, McVay said he had spoken with Stafford beforehand. When asked what he told Stafford, McVay said, \u201cI\u2019ll keep that between us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week, when asked about his discussion with McVay, Stafford said, \u201cI\u2019m not going to get in too much to what our conversation was. I appreciate him talking with me about those kinds of things. We have constant dialogue and a great relationship so I appreciate that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stafford said his job as the starting quarterback was to help all players, including Simpson, prepare for the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a guy that asks questions,\u201d Stafford said. \u201cI\u2019ve been trying to answer those as honestly and as thoroughly as I possibly can.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a smart kid. He\u2019s got talent, obviously. He\u2019s a high draft pick so happy to add good players to our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is too early to quantify what Simpson has brought to the team, McVay said. The offseason workout program is about \u201csetting foundations\u201d that will help once players are participating in full-speed settings during training camp.<\/p>\n

Simpson is on track for a lot of reps when camp begins in late July at Loyola Marymount.<\/p>\n

Last year, Stafford was sidelined all of training camp because of a back issue. But he returned before the opener and won his first MVP award.<\/p>\n

So the Rams are expected to modify Stafford\u2019s traditional training camp workload \u2014 and aim for similar results.<\/p>\n

Offseason workouts are going well, Stafford said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrowing it like I know how to throw it and for somebody my age,\u201d he quipped. \u201cI feel pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even with the extension, the Rams and Stafford will continue to talk contract on a year-to-year basis, a practice they have followed since 2024, when Stafford delayed his arrival to training camp because of an impasse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t sit there and tell you what it\u2019s going to look like 365 days from now,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s just one of those deals where I\u2019m doing the best I can to make sure that I can play as long as I can and make sure that my family and I are all on the same page before we embark on whatever season it may be.\u201d<\/p>\n

If this season plays out as expected, the Rams could give Stafford another weapon at the trade deadline.<\/p>\n

Until then, they\u2019ve guaranteed him plenty of cash.<\/p>\n

And motivation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Matthew Stafford is a master at reading defenses. The Rams star quarterback manipulates opposing players with his eyes.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340163,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[6848,140161,48,52,51,47,50,49,771,4606,752,9442,11706,10947,16713,278,5712,99893,427,9084,37227],"class_list":["post-340162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-decision","tag-first-news-conference","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-matthew-stafford","tag-mcvay","tag-nfl","tag-player","tag-ram","tag-rams","tag-roster","tag-season","tag-sofi-stadium","tag-super-bowl-lxi","tag-team","tag-training-camp","tag-ty-simpson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}