{"id":619687,"date":"2026-05-02T18:15:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T18:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/619687\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T18:15:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T18:15:11","slug":"the-rams-created-a-mess-in-drafting-ty-simpson-to-replace-matthew-stafford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/619687\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rams created a mess in drafting Ty Simpson to replace Matthew Stafford"},"content":{"rendered":"

It looks like the mess the Rams have been trying to clean up for the last week since drafting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the No. 13 pick<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Rams were one game from reaching the Super Bowl last season, and they held their highest draft pick since picking No. 1 in 2016. Yet they used it on a developmental QB who wasn\u2019t viewed by most teams as a first-round pick and likely won\u2019t play for a year, maybe more.<\/p>\n

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Stafford, who threw 46 touchdowns against eight interceptions and set a career high with a 109.2 passer rating, is not showing signs of slowing down. The Rams considered trading for A.J. Brown<\/a> this offseason, and could have had all but two wide receivers with the 13th pick (only Carnell Tate and Jordyn Tyson were off the board).<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no denying that (Simpson) is a good fit in Sean McVay\u2019s offense, but this is easily the gutsiest pick of the first round,\u201d wrote Fox Sports draft analyst Rob Rang. \u201cI can\u2019t help but wonder if the Rams, presumably Super Bowl contenders in 2026, will later wish they\u2019d selected a player likelier to make an immediate impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

One person who might agree is McVay, who was the talk of the first round for his grouchy demeanor at the Rams\u2019 press conference. General manager Les Snead did most of the talking, and the usually energetic McVay only grumbled short answers.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s make one thing clear \u2014 this is Matthew\u2019s team,\u201d McVay said on draft night.<\/p>\n

New England fans saw this awkward dynamic unfold in 2014 when the Patriots drafted Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round<\/a>. Tom Brady was almost 37 and hadn\u2019t won a Super Bowl in nine years, and Bill Belichick didn\u2019t sugarcoat why he felt the need to draft a quarterback.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know what Tom\u2019s age and contract situation is,\u201d Belichick said at the time. \u201cI think you\u2019re better off being early than late at that position.\u201d<\/p>\n

The draft pick and comments infuriated Brady, who channeled his rage into his training and played nine more seasons, winning four Super Bowls (one with the Buccaneers).<\/p>\n

While Belichick put Brady on notice, McVay took the opposite approach, explaining that his dour demeanor toward Simpson was out of respect to Stafford, who can keep his job as long as he wants.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever that time comes for [Simpson] to get an opportunity to be Matthew\u2019s successor will be on Matthew\u2019s terms,\u201d McVay said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want that to ever be misunderstood while not minimizing the excitement for Ty and the buy-in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stafford hasn\u2019t made any public comments since the draft, though Simpson said Stafford\u2019s wife reached out on social media. But McVay\u2019s sour mood last Thursday was at least partly related to how Stafford would react to the news. Stafford is a free agent for the second straight year, and last year\u2019s negotiation was messy, with Stafford flirting with the Raiders. This year, the negotiations have been smoother, McVay said, and he\u2019s worried that drafting Simpson could throw a wrench into the negotiations. If Stafford is anything like Brady<\/a>, he\u2019s none too happy with the Rams\u2019 draft choice.<\/p>\n

Leading up to the draft, the Rams certainly didn\u2019t act like a team ready to make a seismic pick. Simpson said on draft night that he barely had any contact with the Rams, and had never met McVay before getting drafted. McVay said in an interview in late March that he hadn\u2019t done much work on Simpson.<\/p>\n

The Rams have sent an all-out media blitz to change the negative narratives and present a united front. A day after the first round, McVay joked about his grumpy mood and insisted he and Snead \u201ccouldn\u2019t be any more lockstep in every decision that we make.\u201d<\/p>\n

This past week, McVay made an appearance with Fox Sports\u2019 Colin Cowherd, while Snead did interviews with ESPN\u2019s Pat McAfee, NFL Network\u2019s Rich Eisen, and Nick Wright\u2019s show on FS1.<\/p>\n

They provided answers for everything. The Rams actually did have a \u201csecret meeting\u201d with Simpson before the draft, and told him to keep it quiet. Simpson actually did talk football with McVay for hours. There was a rival NFC team that was going to snag Simpson if the Rams didn\u2019t. And when Simpson told the media they had barely met, he didn\u2019t realize it was OK to tell the truth at that point.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Ty stayed on script,\u201d Snead said.<\/p>\n

Stafford also \u201ccouldn\u2019t have been more of a stud with the way he handled it,\u201d McVay said.<\/p>\n

Shakespeare authored a famous line in \u201cHamlet\u201d<\/a> for this type of aggressive posturing: \u201cThe lady doth protest too much, methinks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drafting Simpson is only the beginning of the quandary facing the Rams. Now they have to manage the fragile dynamic between a legendary quarterback and the youngster drafted to replace him, and possibly between a GM who is thinking about the future and a head coach who is thinking about 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf [Stafford] told me he could play for five more years it\u2019s a different approach we\u2019re taking. He doesn\u2019t owe that to us, he\u2019s earned the right to be year to year,\u201d McVay said. \u201cTy will have an opportunity to be his successor when Matthew determines and decides that, based on whenever he wants to ride off into the sunset.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AaronAaron Rodgers’s first season with the Steelers ended with a wild-card playoff loss to the Texans.Gene J. Puskar\/Associated Press<\/p>\n

RODGERS REDUX?<\/p>\n

Steelers use tender on free agent QB<\/p>\n

Speaking of veteran quarterbacks who may have gotten upset at their team this past week, it will be interesting to hear what Aaron Rodgers eventually has to say about the Steelers applying the little-used unrestricted free agent tender on him, which guarantees him a salary 10 percent greater than last year\u2019s (about $15 million) should he re-sign with the Steelers.<\/p>\n

Steelers owner Art Rooney downplayed the move as merely procedural. The window for compensatory draft picks has expired, but the UFA tender extends it to July 22 for the Steelers to receive a compensatory pick should Rodgers sign elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just something we had an opportunity to protect if needed,\u201d Rooney told NFL Network. \u201cNot a real big deal, but just something that if, in the unlikely event he goes somewhere else, we are eligible for a comp pick in that situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Except the UFA tender does a lot more than help the Steelers get a draft pick back. While Rodgers is free to sign with any team until July 22, after that date the Steelers will exclusively control his rights, and another team would have to trade for Rodgers. Plus, if Rodgers isn\u2019t signed by the end of Week 10, his season will be over and he cannot sign with any team.<\/p>\n

Essentially, the Steelers have prevented Rodgers from pulling a Philip Rivers \u2014 waiting out the season at home and joining a playoff-contending team during the stretch run<\/a>. It also artificially limits Rodgers\u2019s compensation to $15 million when he could probably demand much more.<\/p>\n

Rooney and new coach Mike McCarthy have said they have been in contact with Rodgers throughout the offseason and expect him to sign soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though I thought it probably would have been concluded by now, I think we will come to a conclusion here in the next few weeks,\u201d Rooney said.<\/p>\n

But using the UFA tender implies that they don\u2019t really know what Rodgers plans to do, and carries the risk of upsetting Rodgers, who rarely is afraid to share his opinions.<\/p>\n

\"RumorsRumors persist that the Eagles will trade wide receiver A.J. Brown to the Patriots.Terrance Williams\/Associated Press<\/p>\n

ETC. <\/p>\n

Items remain on offseason docket<\/p>\n

Now that free agency and the draft are mostly complete, a look at the items of business ahead for the NFL:<\/p>\n

\u25aa The Eagles trading Brown after June 1, likely to the Patriots<\/a>. Eagles GM Howie Roseman seems determined to get a first-round pick for the 28-year-old receiver. Will he be willing to settle for one in 2027 or 2028? Brown\u2019s age, knee troubles, and lack of trading partners outside of the Patriots could limit the Eagles\u2019 return.<\/p>\n

\u25aa The Colts also need to trade fourth-year quarterback Anthony Richardson. Several teams could stand to take a flier on the former No. 4 overall pick, but his guaranteed salary of $5.3 million is prohibitive.<\/p>\n

\u25aa The Vikings have launched their search for a new general manager. Rob Brzezinski, whose background is in salary cap management, held the interim title through the draft.<\/p>\n

\u25aa Keep an eye on Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby on the trade front, though there doesn\u2019t appear to be anything imminent, and Crosby\u2019s knee may prevent a trade from taking place<\/a>. Garrett will probably want a new contract matching or exceeding Will Anderson\u2019s $50 million per year, too.<\/p>\n

\u25aa Baker Mayfield is entering the final year of his contract and is in line for a raise from the $28 million he is set to make. \u201cAll of our plans revolve around Baker,\u201d Buccaneers GM Jason Licht said last week on Tampa radio. \u201cThat\u2019s something that we\u2019ll get to at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u25aa Free agents no longer count toward the compensatory pick formula, meaning more veterans will sign contracts this spring, likely before mandatory minicamps in June. The Ravens this past week signed defensive tackle Calais Campbell, who will be 40 in September.<\/p>\n

\u25aa The NFL schedule will be released in two weeks, likely between May 12-14. The Patriots are in play<\/a> for the Kickoff Game in Seattle, the Munich game against the Lions, and a whole bunch of national TV games.<\/p>\n

\u25aa Lots of churn. The Dolphins and Falcons were among the teams to already shake up their front office and scouting departments now that the draft is complete. And rookies coming in usually means veterans going out, with the Titans releasing six players Thursday.<\/p>\n

A little bit of insight into the Patriots\u2019 draft picks<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u25aa A rival GM said he \u201clove[s]\u201d the Patriots\u2019 second- and third-round picks, outside linebacker Gabe Jacas and tight end Eli Raridon, comparing them to Buccaneers pass rusher Ya-Ya Diaby and former Ravens tight end (now with the Chargers) Charlie Kolar. The GM believes sixth-round offensive tackle Dametrious Crownover is an intriguing developmental prospect and seventh-round linebacker Quintayvious Hutchins from Boston College \u201ca great special teamer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u25aa A rival special teams coordinator echoed the GM\u2019s sentiments about Hutchins, and added that seventh-round running back Jam Miller should also be a great core special teamer. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s better on special teams than running back,\u201d the coach said.<\/p>\n

\u25aa Joe Kim, a martial arts expert who was the Patriots\u2019 pass rush coach from 2019-24, worked with Jacas last year at the University of Illinois (the connection is Bret Bielema, the Illini\u2019s head coach who worked for the Patriots in 2018-19).<\/p>\n

\u201cGabe is a true Patriot-type football player \u2014 smart, tough, dependable,\u201d said Kim, who just joined Matt Patricia\u2019s defensive staff at Ohio State<\/a>. \u201cGabe\u2019s work ethic is outstanding. I am an early-morning workout guy, and when I get off the bike at 5:45 a.m. and walked to my office, Gabe was always watching film. He came back every afternoon to review his one-on-one rushes from practice and dive into my thoughts on the opponent. He will be an impact player for the Patriots from the first practice of rookie minicamp. Mike [Vrabel] and his staff got a gem.\u201d<\/p>\n

A recent trend in NFL Draft analysis is the concept of the \u201cconsensus board,\u201d where people compile all of the various draft projections for players to create one overarching draft board. Ravens GM Eric DeCosta told the team website that while the boards can be useful, it doesn\u2019t account for the fact that teams often have inside information the draftniks don\u2019t, such as injury history and off-field troubles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last couple of years, we\u2019ve had some players that were sort of outlier players \u2014 we might like them more than the consensus boards, so they might show up for us as first- or second-round players in our sequence, but on consensus boards they maybe show up in fourth or fifth rounds,\u201d DeCosta said. \u201cIt tells me that there are players that teams like that the consensus boards haven\u2019t heard about, valued properly, or latched onto, for whatever reason. Usually the players get picked closer to where we have them ranked instead of where they are on the consensus boards.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BroncosBroncos quarterback Bo Nix had another clean-up procedure on his broken ankle.Bart Young\/Associated Press<\/p>\n

Sean Payton and the Broncos have acted a little funny about Bo Nix\u2019s fractured ankle that cost him the AFC Championship game<\/a>, and sure enough, NFL Network reported this past week that Nix recently had a second clean-up procedure that will have him limited or out for most of the offseason program. Payton joked to Nix that he wouldn\u2019t have drafted him had he known Nix\u2019s full injury history with his ankle, but now Payton probably isn\u2019t laughing \u2026 Next year\u2019s NFL Draft will be on The Mall in Washington, D.C., and Minnesota and Cincinnati are reportedly the favorites for 2028 and \u203229. Commissioner Roger Goodell also attended the Browns\u2019 stadium groundbreaking ceremony this past week and said Cleveland is owed another shot at the draft after its event in 2021 was significantly affected by the pandemic. Goodell also mentioned the possibility of a Cleveland Super Bowl in the new domed stadium set to open in 2029, but, please, Roger, no one wants to be in Cleveland in February. The area doesn\u2019t have enough hotel rooms, either \u2026 TV ratings for the NFL Draft dropped to an average of 6.6 million over the three days, down from 7.7 million last year. The first round remains popular, but with NFL Combine ratings also sagging, the league may have to reimagine some of its draft coverage \u2026 Taken with the 57th pick, new Bears center Logan Jones earned a lifetime supply of ketchup from the Kraft Heinz Company \u2026 Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia became the first Heisman Trophy runner-up to go undrafted since Iowa\u2019s Brad Banks in 2003. Pavia accepted a tryout invitation to the Ravens minicamp, and signed thereafter \u2026 Giants kicker Younghoe Koe produced the blooper of the 2025 season when he stubbed the ground on his field goal attempt against the Patriots<\/a>. He also potentially saved a man\u2019s life. Mark Toothaker, whose horse, Further Ado, ran in Saturday\u2019s Kentucky Derby, laughed so hard at the blooper that it triggered a seizure. A subsequent CT scan revealed a tennis-ball-sized tumor on the left side of his brain, which was benign and removed. \u201cI wholeheartedly believe I was in the right spot at the right time, and he was the trigger for that happening,\u201d Toothaker told the Associated Press. \u201cIt was a miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It looks like the mess the Rams have been trying to clean up for the last week since…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":619688,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,51082,268668,99],"class_list":["post-619687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-nflraw25","tag-nflraw26","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}