Much of the spotlight has centered on rookie quarterback Ty Simpson throughout the training camp. While many have begun to see him as the franchise’s quarterback of the future, a recently surfaced clip highlighting his struggles in practice has left many in the NFL community disappointed.
Ty Simpson Gets Mocked by NFL World
The battle for the Rams’ backup quarterback job has centered around Simpson and Stetson Bennett. Much of the attention has been on Simpson as Los Angeles invested the No. 13 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to bring him in.
During Saturday’s practice, a video went viral in which Simpson was seen scrambling around before throwing an incomplete pass.
The clip didn’t bode well with many, including NFL writer John Frascella.
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“Not sure what the HELL I am seeing from Ty Simpson… this is torture to watch… but there’s no way he’s QB2 over Stetson Bennett right now… Rams blacked out on that critical draft pick,” Frascella wrote.
Not sure what the HELL I am seeing from Ty Simpson… this is torture to watch… but there’s no way he’s QB2 over Stetson Bennett right now… Rams blacked out on that critical draft pick. https://t.co/aBUTToaFnW
— John Frascella (Football) (@NFLFrascella) August 4, 2026
Simpson burst onto the college football scene during the first half of the 2025 season before his production dipped significantly down the stretch. It even led many to question whether he was worthy of first-round consideration.
While many keep criticizing the Rams for selecting Simpson with such a high pick, the training camp clip gave them one more reason to double down on their take.
“Ty Simpson was the worst draft pick in NFL history. The Rams really drafted him at 13th overall,” popular NFL news aggregator Dov Kleiman wrote.
Ty Simpson was the worst draft pick in NFL history.
The Rams really drafted him at 13th overall pic.twitter.com/okMXcmDjgJ
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 3, 2026
“It was a nepotism pick,” columnist Vishnu Parasuraman wrote. “This is how a lot of business runs in this country, unfortunately. We’re not a meritocracy. It’s just rarer in sports because the competition is so cutthroat. But you’ll frequently see executives in companies that are completely worthless but given big paychecks because of family connections. No way this pick happens if the Simpsons and Sneads aren’t family friends.”
One user on X added, “Ty Simpson looks like the next coming of Matt Corral.”
Another added, “The Rams are gonna lose the Super Bowl and we’ll know why. 13th overall and took a (expletive) at QB. Could have had so many impact players. This just smells like (expletive). Similar (expletive) was smelled in GB when Rodgers was in his prime and they failed him.”
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Though there were a couple of throws in the training camp that defenders could have intercepted, Simpson has generally shown encouraging signs while learning one of the league’s more complex offenses against a talented Rams defense. He also entered the NFL with only one full season as Alabama’s starting quarterback, leaving him with limited experience handling consistent pressure.
Simpson’s footwork remains a work in progress, but his ball placement on the criticized throw was good. He also displayed a quicker release and greater comfort running the offense earlier in training camp.
Those flashes prompted some to defend the former Alabama standout, who finished the 2025 college football season with an 85.4 PFN CFB QB Impact grade.
“This is the only bad clip out of his whole camp so far. The people who are actually there all have great things to say. But let’s focus on one single clip and completely ignore everything else, Also can’t even see if his receivers were open or not so can’t make a true observation,” a fan said.
Simpson also seems to be making steady progress in Sean McVay’s offense, with the Rams head coach praising the rookie’s development since the spring. McVay said Simpson has become much more comfortable calling plays in the huddle and has improved his mechanics by speeding up his release while better syncing his lower-body movement with route timing.
Simpson is not expected to see significant playing time this season as long as Matthew Stafford remains healthy, giving the rookie valuable time to continue developing in the Rams’ offense.
