First-round pick Ty Simpson, Los Angeles Rams agree on rookie contract

LOS ANGELES — The final of this year’s first-round NFL Draft picks is under contract.

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Ty Simpson signed his rookie deal on the day players reported to training camp Saturday, a team source confirmed to The Athletic. The deal is for four years and $25.4 million, fully guaranteed. It includes a fifth-year option as well as a $14.9 million signing bonus as determined by his No. 13 draft slot.

The Rams selected Simpson out of Alabama this spring with the highest draft pick they’ve owned in a decade. In doing so, they locked in an heir to Matthew Stafford, who is entering his 18th NFL season after winning his first league Most Valuable Player award.

Rams coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead have made it clear that Stafford will control how much longer he has to play. Stafford began this offseason with one season left on his contract but added a second season for $55 million to keep him through the 2027 season, if he chooses to keep playing then.

The plan for Simpson is to sit and learn behind Stafford for as long as the reigning MVP continues to play. The Rams feel as if he could use that learning after starting just one season at Alabama, when he led the Crimson Tide to the second round of the College Football Playoff and finished with 28 touchdown passes and five interceptions.

Simpson was a surprising pick to some at the time, given the Rams’ stated goals to win a Super Bowl after a narrow loss in the NFC Championship Game. But that selection freed up their 2027 draft picks in trades, and they then traded that 2027 first-round pick along with Pro Bowl edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.

Simpson will see some reps this summer as Stafford manages a degenerative back issue. The Rams have broken training camp into four-day blocks where Stafford will practice on the second and third days while resting on the first and fourth days. Stafford will not participate in the team’s first practice on Sunday.

Simpson will use this training camp, as well as three preseason games, to try to beat out Stetson Bennett for the No. 2 quarterback role. Jimmy Garoppolo had held that spot for the past two seasons but is a free agent considering retirement.

“The quarterback position is obviously an incredibly important position with the way that this game is played, and you’ll see that reflected,” McVay said. “As Matthew gets a chance to take some of those days off, I think that’s when you’ll really see (the other quarterbacks) get more reps than they would otherwise. We want to create as many competitive situations so we’re good-on-good basically every period.”