Rams Say Picking Ty Simpson Lets Them Stay Aggressive Trading Future Firsts

Some have questioned the Rams’ choice to pick QB Ty Simpson at No. 13 in the first round instead of getting someone who can help their Super Bowl chances in 2026 with QB Matthew Stafford.

Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show, Rams GM Les Snead implied they could be more aggressive with moves for Stafford since they don’t have to worry about adding his successor now. 

“When you have a QB who’s in the twilight of his career, a lot of times, you want to save those early picks to ensure just in case Matthew decides, ‘I’ve had enough,'” Snead said. “But at the end of the day, when you’re not sure when he might say it’s over, you like to insure some of those other picks in case you need to react versus pro-acting for the next QB. We can now maybe use those picks to add different players to chase special with Matthew, whether it’s through the draft or doing what we did with Trent McDuffie and adding a veteran.”

Simpson is just the second player Snead has drafted in the first round since HC Sean McVay was hired in 2017. Los Angeles has traded away its first-round pick nine of the past 10 years and took Simpson with a pick acquired from the Falcons.  

Stafford, 38, is a former first-round pick of the Lions, who took him with the No. 1 overall pick out of Georgia in 2009. He was in the final year of a five-year, $76.5 million contract when he and the Lions agreed to a five-year, $135 million extension back in 2017.

Stafford was involved in a blockbuster trade that sent him to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for QB Jared Goff and draft picks in 2021. He signed a four-year extension worth $160 million that included $135 million guaranteed a year later. 

The Rams and Stafford later reworked that deal going into the 2024 season, moving money up from the back of the contract. Stafford was due $27 million and $31 million in the final two years of his deal when the two sides reworked his existing contract again in 2025. 

In 2025, Stafford appeared in all 17 games for the Rams and threw for 4,707 yards while completing 65.0 percent of his passes for 46 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Simpson, 23, is a native of Martin, Tennessee, and was named second-team All-SEC in 2025 in his first season as a starter with the Crimson Tide.

In four years with Alabama, Simpson appeared in 31 games and made 15 starts. He compiled a record of 11-4 as a starter and completed 334 of his 523 attempts (63.9 percent) for 3,948 yards, 28 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also rushed 112 times for 223 yards and five touchdowns.