For better or worse, Sean McVay’s “grumpy” press conference is forever part of Ty Simpson’s NFL career history. Shine when he eventually takes over for Matthew Stafford, and it will go down with Aaron Rodgers’ green-room shots. Crash, and it will be used as fodder for his mistakes.
While McVay brushed aside any perceived issues he had with using the No. 13 overall pick on a backup QB, the questions will remain at least until the real games begin. For his part, Simpson insisted he didn’t notice McVay’s reaction during the presser after the pick.
“I didn’t really see it,” Simpson said Saturday at a fundraiser, via Gary Klein of the LA Times .
“I do know one thing,” he said. “I know Coach McVay has been in touch and he’s super excited. And I’m really excited. I know I couldn’t have asked for a better position, not only with the best player in the league in front of me, but the best coach in the league at the helm.”
Simpson revealed last month that he had met with McVay “in secret” hours before the draft and talked about the pigskin.
Since surprising the football world, the Rams have been in public relations, defending the pick and dismissing any questions about whether the team was locked into using a future first-round pick rather than sponsoring a Super Bowl contender in 2026.
The next step in the offseason storyline will be how Stafford reacts to the selection publicly. Will he embrace the rookie, or be audibly upset that the Rams used a first-rounder on a late replacement rather than someone who could help him win now?
Simpson said that after the draft, he received a test from Stafford’s wife, Kelly, welcoming him to the club and offering to help him and his family. Stafford also sent the rookie a message that he initially missed.
“It was also really cool,” Simpson said, “because they didn’t have to.
Stafford’s willingness to be a mentor to the young Simpson, who doesn’t enter the NFL with much starting experience, will be crucial to the eventual handover of a stick going smoothly in LA