How Rams will change training camp to aid Ty Simpson’s development

First-round draft pick Ty Simpson inked his rookie contract

with the Los Angeles Rams. He’ll battle with Stetson Bennett to earn the rights to backup Matthew Stafford.

As players report to training camp, it seems the Rams have a plan to both manage Stafford’s workload and provide additional opportunities to Simpson in order to aid in his development. Nate Atkins from The Athletic touched on this Saturday:

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 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 Rams have seemingly drawn the conclusion after watching Stafford miss the entirety of last year’s camp and then going on to win the NFL’s MVP award that the veteran probably doesn’t need much practice. You can’t argue with the results. Similar to how Jimmy Garoppolo kept the train on tracks in 2025, this approach now creates opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t be there for Bennett and Simpson to train with the starters. It’s also more straightforward to evaluate quarterback play when they are operating with a strong supporting cast.

Stafford could sit out half of Rams practices—or at least that is the plan for the first week of training camp.

That means plenty of time in the spotlight for Simpson. It’s time for the rookie to put on a show.