The Los Angeles Rams put together an interesting offseason with their roster moves, which included drafting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. The team is widely considered to be in win-now mode, and the blockbuster trade they ultimately pulled off reflected as much. But how did it all come together in the end?
How the Rams Plotted a Masterful Offseason Plan to Land Ty Simpson and Myles Garrett
The Rams entered the offseason with an axe to grind after narrowly losing out on the Super Bowl last season. With an aging franchise quarterback in Matthew Stafford, the front office had a clear mission: win at any cost in 2026.
They moved early in the offseason, acquiring two-time Super Bowl champion Trent McDuffie in a blockbuster trade with the Chiefs, and signing his former teammate Jaylen Watson in free agency to bolster the secondary. Among a series of other moves, they also shocked many on draft night by selecting Simpson 13th overall.
With a quarterback for the future, a rockstar offense (that booked a 92.3 PFSN Offense Impact rating in 2025), and a loaded secondary, the front office still had one more move up its sleeve.
Enter: June 1.
In one of the biggest trades for a defensive player in NFL history, Los Angeles sent Jared Verse and draft capital to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for $204 million All-Pro Myles Garrett. The move sent shockwaves through the league, to the point of waking rumors about Rams legend Aaron Donald returning to join Garrett on the defensive line.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer detailed how the offseason came together for the Rams, noting the significance of their draft strategy.
“It’s not fortunate that you got to wait till June 1st to get Myles Garrett on your team if you’re the Rams,” he said on “The Rich Eisen Show.” “But the fact that they were going to have to wait for June 1st meant they couldn’t use a 2026 pick as part of the deal. So why not use that pick now to get your quarterback?”
While the Rams are sacrificing a lot to win now, it’s seen as a win for them to have gotten a quarterback like Simpson.
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When they first picked the quarterback, the thinking was that the Rams knew they likely wouldn’t be picking in the top half of the first round again in the near future (since they would be too good), and they used the Atlanta Falcons’ pick to select Simpson. But they probably knew that they were going to go after Garrett, so they didn’t expect to have a first-rounder at all next year.
“You weren’t going to touch [your 2026 first-round pick] as part of the Myles Garrett trade anyway,” Breer added. “And then you’ve got all those picks in the future to include as part of the deal. And, you know, obviously, it worked out for them that way.”
There’s a lot riding on the 2026 season for the Rams, and it’ll be fascinating to see whether head coach Sean McVay manages to extract the maximum out of his loaded roster.
