The Los Angeles Rams had their rookie quarterback Ty Simpson lie about meeting with the team ahead of the draft and even after.
The Los Angeles Rams were lowkey about their interest in Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, and there was a reason for it.
Rams general manager Les Snead revealed that he had Simpson mislead others about meeting with the team prior to the 2026 NFL Draft. Snead explained during radio and TV appearances that the move was part of the team’s strategy to keep their plans under wraps leading up to last Thursday's draft.
"Here’s where it went awry," he said. "We do like to emphasize, 'Hey, look. Try to keep these private meetings between us. For that gamesmanship. We like for other teams not to know we’re interested.’'So we do emphasize that a little stronger. Try to keep it between us. So, if you go to another team and they ask – a lot of times, teams will ask, 'Where have you visited?' I know this: A lot of teams will keep up with who’s visited, where have players been on top-30s, who was at the pro day. You’re trying to figure out who may take a player and who may not. So we emphasize, keep it quite. Felt really bad for Ty. He stayed on script. Poor guy stayed on script."
Simpson had told the media, even after he was drafted, that he had never met with McVay. That was a lie.
The 23-year-old met with McVay and Snead well before the draft and even had a hours-long conversation as well.
The Rams did not make this pick out of pure instinct. It was a calculated and well-thought-out plan that the Rams had in place for months. Although it didn't look like it after Day 1 of the draft, days later, that seems to be the case.
As for the Matthew Stafford part of it, the Rams will let him play for as long as he wants. Nonetheless, his future with the team and in the league is iffy. Los Angeles believes that Simpson is the quarterback to lead the Rams moving forward after the 38-year-old decides to hang up his cleats.
Whether it was worth selecting him at 13 remains a mystery; however, nobody will find out if it was worth it for possibly another two or three seasons.
However, there is no denying the facts: Simpson has a limited amount of time as the signal caller beyond the high school level. The 2025 season was his first as a starter, and he only played in 15 games.
While he displayed moments of brilliance, there are still some serious questions about whether he can be a high-level quarterback in the league once his number is called.
The good news for Simpson is that he is in a well-run organization with arguably the best head coach in the league and the reigning MVP in his corner.