The Los Angeles Rams’ eyebrow-raising selection in the first found of the NFL Draft on Tuesday was long in the making, NFL Network reported Friday.
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson was expected to be selected no earlier than Friday’s second round, but the Rams had other ideas by taking the signal-caller with the No. 13 overall selection.
According to the report, the Rams had essentially made up their mind about Simpson before he was limited to 67 yards passing and left the game early in a crushing 38-3 loss to Indiana in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.
Simpson and his family met with Rams officials when the team was in the Los Angeles area for the College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
“It’s something that I cherish, being in the same room as a first-ballot Hall of Famer (Matthew Stafford) and a guy who is so smart like (head coach Sean McVay),” Simpson said. “We watched his film all the time when I was at ‘Bama, all the stuff they did. … So the fact that I get to be in a room and soak up all that knowledge, I couldn’t ask for a better situation.”
While it was a rib injury that led to Simpson’s removal from the Rose Bowl, he also had elbow and back soreness, as well as stomach discomfort during the second half of last season when the Crimson Tide lost three of their final six games after an 8-1 start.
Stafford, 38, will return at quarterback for the Rams next season, while Simpson will battle Stetson Bennett IV for the backup role. While Simpson is considered the Rams’ QB of the future, he could end up playing in a backup role for as many as two seasons.
“Let’s make one thing clear: This is Matthew’s team,” McVay told reporters after the Simpson selection was made. “There was a lot of players that we liked and there was a lot of thought that kind of went into it.”
Simpson passed for 3,567 yards with 28 touchdowns and five interceptions in 15 games as last season, his first as a starter.
