Turf Show Times
Training camp kicks off this week for the Los Angeles Rams.
Matthew Stafford returns from his 2025 MVP campaign. High-profile additions like Trent McDuffie, Myles Garrett, and Jaylen Watson will make their debuts. Aaron Donald could un-retire soon.
There’s plenty of exciting news surrounding the Rams. No story may be bigger over training camp and the preseason than rookie quarterback and 2026 first-round pick Ty Simpson.
LA’s selection of Simpson sent shockwaves across the NFL world. Instead of drafting another playmaker to get the most out of Stafford’s remaining tenure, the Rams instead opted to prepare for life after their franchise quarterback.
Simpson is going to dominate headlines. The vibe will shift on every positive or negative report from practice. We may even get to see him in the preseason, and it’s all but certain that people will drop sweeping conclusions from a very limited sample size.
Rams fans haven’t seen a show like this since Jared Goff was picked first overall pack in 2016. They aren’t used to young quarterback news cycles and the drama that surrounds them.
It is imperative to stay even keeled. Simpson is the future of the team. It will take time for him to develop. This has always been the Rams’ plan and they have the rare luxury of patience.
So let’s get out in front of the wave and set realistic expectations.
Training camp is not a relevant measuring stick for the likes of Garrett, McDuffie, Watson, or Donald. Their real test will come in Week 1 when the Rams travel to Australia to take on the San Francisco 49ers.
But camp is effectively Simpson’s Super Bowl. He may not even play in the preseason.
So before the rookie gets put on mothballs, why not put on a show and demonstrate why the Rams felt confident selecting him at thirteenth overall?
If all goes according to plan, training camp and preseason are our only opportunities to check in on Simpson’s development. Then time will freeze and we will hold all prior conclusions until this time next year, of which Simpson should either enter as the presumed starter or in store for another year as Stafford’s understudy.
Simpson’s debut can be spectacularly awful or promising. It doesn’t matter or have any impact on the outlook of his NFL career. He just needs to let loose and show a few glimpses of what the Rams saw ahead of the draft.
I view the backup job behind Stafford as entirely Stetson Bennett’s to lose.
Third quarterbacks are effectively inactive on gamedays unless the top two are injured. That means if something happens to the starter, the backup is going to play. There is no alternative realistically.
That is exactly the reason why Simpson should not enter the regular season as Stafford’s backup. He shouldn’t play until Sean McVay believes he is ready and applies his metaphorical stamp of approval.
Could Simpson be...
