Ty Simpson and his “Secret Meeting” with Rams

What happened to Matthew Stafford?

During a conversation with Ian Fitzsimmons of ESPN Radio, Ty Simpson revealed his clandestine, 007-like, meeting with Sean McVay ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft.
A dark room. Just a coach, a general manager, and a tablet. Fighting the fear of getting caught with the excitement of playing for the boy genius himself.

“We tried to keep this under wraps as long as we could,” Simpson said. “It was something to where I knew [the Los Angeles Rams] were interested, but they wanted to make it private and didn’t want people to know that they were interested. So, I had some secret meetings with Coach McVay, and I just was trying to be on script and do what everybody told me and not to tell anybody.”

Simpson went on to elaborate that he and McVay spoke for “hours and hours” about football.

As long as the secret meeting isn’t in Sedona, Arizona, it’s fine by the NFL’s standards. Actually, by the NFL’s standards Sedona, Arizona would have been fine too…

The secret meeting with Simpson makes sense. The Rams spent little time at Simpson’s pro day because they didn’t want to tip their hand that they might be interested.

Simpson’s confidence the Rams were interested in him also makes sense. On Monday ESPN reported that hours before the draft, the Rams informed both Matthew Stafford and Spencer Rattler that if Simpson was available, they were planning to take him. Wouldn’t want anybody to feel “blindsided.”

The part of the story that still doesn’t make sense is McVay’s reaction after Simpson was selected 13th overall. McVay appeared upset in the draft room and the press conference following Round 1 of the Draft. When asked about it later, he chalked it up to being generally “grumpy.” Nobody’s buying that, by the way.

Thinking through the possibilities feels like something from an Ian Fleming novel. A spy story where the secret agent must evaluate every possible angle to find the truth.

If he spent “hours and hours” speaking with Simpson ahead of the draft, and the player he wanted to fall to him did so, why would McVay be grumpy? Why did he make sure to convey to the media that the team was still Matthew Stafford’s and that he has whatever timeline he wants?

Okay - what do we already know?
The ESPN report! Hours before the draft McVay informed Stafford that they were selecting a quarterback with the 13th overall pick. Is that the clue? HOURS BEFORE THE DRAFT?

Now—this is where we have to start connecting dots, because something doesn’t add up.

McVay thought the conversation with Stafford would go well. He’d understand that the team had to think beyond the 38-year-old quarterback entering the last year of his contract. He’d welcome the young buck, and serve as a mentor to him for the next year...maybe two if an extension can be done.

But if that conversation didn’t go the way McVay expected…everything after that starts to make a lot more sense.

Stafford, coming off of an MVP season where he was a few plays away from reaching his second Super Bowl, doesn’t want a succession plan. He wants an asset that will help him win. Not only his second Super Bowl and MVP, but earn a massive contract extension. How could McVay not get that?

After that conversation, McVay returns to the draft room with a different perspective. Now is the time to win. Not a year from now. Maybe the Rams should upgrade offensive line? Defensive line? Trade back and make a few more selections in the draft? Maybe the plan changed.

But the pick didn’t.

Les Snead didn’t care.

Les wants to win another Super Bowl too. But not just one. He wants two, three, or maybe even four.

Stafford can’t do that. He doesn’t have enough time.

Simpson does.

On top of that, with Stetson Bennett or Jimmy Garoppolo behind Stafford, he had leverage. Surely the Rams can’t expect to win all year with either of those quarterbacks. With Simpson? The leverage goes back to Snead. Simpson is hope for a brighter tomorrow. Stafford is a relic of the past.

So even if there was hesitation…there wasn’t enough time to pivot.

The Rams were on the clock, and minutes later, the pick was in.

Ty Simpson was now a Los Angeles Ram.

And the secret meeting—the one that did happen—might not have just been about drafting a quarterback. It might have been the moment the Rams quietly started preparing for life after Matthew Stafford.

And whether Stafford likes it or not…that clock is now ticking.

And the secret meeting—the one that did happen—might not have just been about drafting a quarterback. It might have been the moment the Rams quietly started preparing for life after Matthew Stafford.
And whether Stafford likes it or not…that clock is now ticking.

Sean McVay will return…

Oh—and the dark room with just the coach, GM, and tablet? Yeah… I made that part up. According to Simpson they really did have a secret meeting. He just didn’t describe what exactly that entailed. The spy story needed a setting!