Sarah BarshopApr 27, 2026, 08:40 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
Ty Simpson looking forward to having Matthew Stafford as a mentor (0:25)Ty Simpson is excited to learn from Matthew Stafford in his next chapter with the Rams. (0:25)
LOS ANGELES — The Rams wanted to keep their interest in Ty Simpson close to the vest before the NFL draft, so the Alabama quarterback kept his meeting with coach Sean McVay “private,” he said Monday in an interview with Ian Fitzsimmons on ESPN Radio’s “Amber & Ian.”
“We tried to keep this under wraps as long as we could,” Simpson said in Monday’s interview. “It was something to where I knew they were interested, but they wanted to make it private and didn’t want people to know that they were interested.
“So, I had some secret meetings with Coach McVay, and I just was trying to be on script and do what everybody told me and not to tell anybody.”
“It was really brief, to be honest with you,” he said Thursday night. “I met with some scouts in Alabama, and that was really it. They talked to my agent, but that really wasn’t much.”
In reality, Simpson said Monday, he and McVay had one meeting before the draft and “talked for hours and hours.”
“And it was just football,” Simpson said. “It was just straight football. And it was like a kid in a candy store. Me and him are sitting there, and we’re just going back and forth. You can tell the obsession he has for the game, and you can tell the love he has for quarterback play.
“It’s something that I appreciate, and it’s something that I enjoy because I really enjoy playing the position and value the position. So, being with him and then getting to know him and then just seeing a little bit of how I would get coached if I was fortunate enough to go there was something that I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.”
Ty Simpson looking forward to having Matthew Stafford as a mentor (0:25)Ty Simpson is excited to learn from Matthew Stafford in his next chapter with the Rams. (0:25)
Sarah BarshopApr 27, 2026, 08:40 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 Rams drafted Simpson, Matthew Stafford’s likely successor, with the 13th pick Thursday night.
After he was drafted, Simpson downplayed his predraft interactions with the Rams.
Ty Simpson is excited to learn from Matthew Stafford in his next chapter with the Rams. (0:25)