Sarah BarshopApr 24, 2026, 04:56 PM ETCloseSarah Barshop covers the Los Angeles Rams for ESPN. She joined ESPN in 2016 to cover the Green Bay Packers for ESPN Milwaukee. She then moved to Houston to cover the Texans. She came to ESPN after working as a writer and editor for Sports Illustrated.Follow on XMultiple Authors
Domonique Foxworth: Rams’ selection of Ty Simpson is a ‘risky bet’ (1:57)Dan Graziano and Domonique Foxworth detail why the Rams’ decision to draft Ty Simpson in the first round isn’t expected to pay off immediately. (1:57)
LOS ANGELES — Rams coach Sean McVay opened his Friday evening news conference asking, “Am I angry right now?” in reference to the reaction to his subdued demeanor after Los Angeles picked quarterback Ty Simpson on Thursday night.
The Rams drafted Simpson at No. 13 on Thursday night, and McVay’s brief responses to questions and overall body language led to some speculation that he was unhappy with the pick.
“And so for any of the questions or misunderstandings just based on my demeanor or disposition last night, I did want to get that out of the way. This is my buddy right here.”
“And so the demeanor would have been stoic by nature because you are excited, but by no means … it is Matthew’s football team,” McVay said. “Excited to be able to add Ty. What a blessing it is for him to be able to learn from Matthew, to be able to come into this atmosphere and environment.
Snead and McVay have worked together since the latter was hired in 2017. The pair, who signed multiyear contract extensions this offseason, are tied with Kansas City’s Andy Reid and Brett Veach and San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch for the longest active head coach-GM pairing.
“From a life perspective, you hear it when players retire, they miss the locker room,” Snead said. “Whenever that time comes for me, I’ll miss showing up and doing hard things with Sean just because that’s a relationship that probably makes life worth a living, makes it worth getting up.”
The Rams became the first team to have a quarterback win MVP then select a quarterback in the first round of the subsequent NFL draft since the Green Bay Packers in 1967, according to ESPN Research. Bart Starr won MVP in 1966, and Green Bay drafted Don Horn 25th overall the following year.
Simpson, who started 15 games at Alabama, entered the draft widely considered the second-best quarterback behind Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who was selected first by the Las Vegas Raiders.
After he was drafted, Simpson called McVay a “quarterback genius” and said he is excited to learn from Stafford.
Domonique Foxworth: Rams’ selection of Ty Simpson is a ‘risky bet’ (1:57)Dan Graziano and Domonique Foxworth detail why the Rams’ decision to draft Ty Simpson in the first round isn’t expected to pay off immediately. (1:57)
Dan Graziano and Domonique Foxworth detail why the Rams’ decision to draft Ty Simpson in the first round isn’t expected to pay off immediately. (1:57)
Sarah BarshopApr 24, 2026, 04:56 PM ETCloseSarah Barshop covers the Los Angeles Rams for ESPN. She joined ESPN in 2016 to cover the Green Bay Packers for ESPN Milwaukee. She then moved to Houston to cover the Texans. She came to ESPN after working as a writer and editor for Sports Illustrated.Follow on XMultiple Authors
CloseSarah Barshop covers the Los Angeles Rams for ESPN. She joined ESPN in 2016 to cover the Green Bay Packers for ESPN Milwaukee. She then moved to Houston to cover the Texans. She came to ESPN after working as a writer and editor for Sports Illustrated.Follow on X
The coach said he wanted to be “respectful” of “the way things can be interpreted.”