Ty Simpson Is Starting to Make Too Much Sense for the Cardinals

The future of the quarterback position for the Arizona Cardinals is entirely up in the air as of now.

The team signed veteran Gardner Minshew in free agency, who will compete with another veteran, Jacoby Brissett, for the likely starting role in 2026. Pending the Cardinals adding a quarterback in a weak 2026 NFL Draft class, all signs point to next offseason and the 2027 NFL Draft to find their franchise quarterback.

It's certainly a risk considering the state of the team, and points toward a horrific 2026 season with "tanking" vibes. Arizona is, once again, embracing a rebuild with a first-time head coach in Mike LaFleur. The Cardinals cut ties with longtime starter Kyler Murray, who led the charge for the franchise for seven seasons.

Arizona is a stranger to good quarterback play, and even the mediocre stint that Murray had with the franchise after being selected first overall in 2019 saw him become one of the team's most productive quarterbacks. Simply put, the team is starving for quarterback play.

As mentioned, the 2026 class is weak with top-end guys. Indiana's Fernando Mendoza is far and away the best quarterback in the draft and will be selected first overall by the Las Vegas Raiders next month. After him is Alabama's Ty Simpson followed by an array of dart throws and career backups, which isn't what Arizona wants. So, if the Cardinals want to take a quarterback in this year's draft with the potential to lead this team, then they will need to take a shot on Simpson.

With more thought put into the idea of Simpson becoming a Cardinal, I can say that I am beginning to love the match.

Simpson spent four seasons at Alabama, but started just one. It's more than unusual to see someone spend so much time at one program without seeing the field, at least in modern college football. Simpson is the exception, and rumors came up that he turned down the chance to transfer to LSU and be their starting quarterback in 2026 for quite the price in NIL.

For Simpson, it's all about his image and the way he carries himself.

That's already something that teams should take note of, especially those who are looking for a firm leader rather than a dice roll at the position. The Cardinals need both, but fans are starving for a quarterback who looks the part as that franchise leader given the criticism Murray dealt with.

Beyond appearances and formalities, Simpson looked exceptional as a starter for the Crimson Tide. Simpson led Alabama back to the College Football Playoff after the program fell short of making it in 2024. Through the first two months of the year, he threw 20 touchdowns to just one interception while spreading the ball around to a talented group of pass catchers.

Though he did struggle in November and in two CFP games, throwing eight touchdowns to four picks, he still displayed the upside that teams were excited over.

Simpson's struggles were on full display when he faced a good pass rush, faltering and looking much more like a freshman than a four-year college player. It happens to every quarterback, but it was fair to raise alarms when looking at the significant drop-off in performance. There's lots of work to be done for Simpson to survive elite pass rushes at the next level.

An underrated aspect to Simpson's game is his mobility. His 2025 box score shows he ran for 93 yards on 90 carries, but that's more than a deceiving stat considering sack yards count against your total rushing yards. Subtracting the 28 sacks he took and lost 216 yards on, Simpson ran for 309 yards on 62 carries, a ~5.0 yards per carry average.

Simpson was a five-star dual-threat quarterback out of high school, which means there's untapped potential for him as a runner. In today's NFL, that matters a lot and could help clean up his issues against pass rushes.

The tools are all there for Simpson to become a next-level starting quarterback, but he'll need more than just good coaching to develop. His transition to the pros will also be predicated on the situation that he's walking into. This isn't so much about whether he starts week one or sits his entire rookie season, rather it's about the infrastructure of the team who drafts him.

Considering the struggles he had when under pressure, there will be a clear need to make sure that the starting five offensive linemen can be relied upon to keep him upright. This pivots into the play calling and finding a way to simplify things while he learns. Asking Simpson to run a complex and high-demanding offense is the best way to stunt his progress.

His future employer should instead focus on building the offense around quick passing to get him comfortable. When the timing is right, Simpson throws a pretty deep ball and can unlock all three levels of the field, but that should come with time and patience.

When we look at the Cardinals, they have work to do across the board for Simpson... and yet, it feels like the team could place him into a perfect situation out the gate. It's no secret how bad the Cardinals' offensive line was a year ago, but their top two players, Paris Johnson Jr. and Hjalte Froholdt, are both back in the fold.

The team also added stud guard Isaac Seumalo to plug and play on the left side. The right side of the offensive line is the missing piece to get this group up to even average play, but they can solve that with the third overall pick in the class.

Miami's Francis Mauigoa is widely considered one of, if not the, top offensive line prospects in the draft. He's a big, powerful right tackle who has dominated elite competition. Some analysts would prefer him to kick inside at guard, but his NFL optics are bright. By taking Mauigoa third overall, the Cardinals leave one spot left in need of help.

At right guard, Isaiah Adams looked much better down the stretch of last season, but he needs competition. The team can add just that in a deep interior offensive line class and thus, at least in theory, complete a retooling of the offensive line.

The next part comes down to how LaFleur wants to run his offense, but the Sean McVay disciple has learned from the best how to coordinate things. If he's able to live up to the status of coming from that coaching tree, then it shouldn't be too much of an issue for Simpson to find early success in the offense.

I mentioned earlier that Simpson doesn't necessarily need to sit for a team to put him in a position to succeed, but that's what he could find in Arizona. We talked about Minshew and Brissett competing to be the likely starting quarterback for the Cardinals, and that could wind up making Simpson the backup to either one of them or even the third guy on the depth chart.

After seeing the way he soaked in his coaching while at Alabama, this could very well line him up to make a stronger transition to the NFL than other teams could place him in.

All of this may be hypothetical, but I love the way things could align in the desert for Simpson. It also helps having Trey McBride, Michael Wilson, and Marvin Harrison Jr. at your disposal.

The final question turns into cost and value. Could the Cardinals find Simpson available with the 34th overall pick, or would they be wisest to move up, perhaps back into the first round, to secure his services?

That question comes down to whether this coaching staff and front office believe in him and are willing to look past the 2027 draft class, which currently has an abundance of quarterback prospects. If they decide that Simpson is worth it, then they could make him a priority and ensure the team has a quarterback in the fold under a new regime.

It's always a risk drafting a quarterback, and even more so given uncertainty across the board for a franchise. That's exactly what the Cardinals are right now, and it makes drafting any quarterback, not just Simpson, at any point in the draft a risk. But given the scenario we lined up here, maybe Simpson can become the answer the Cardinals need at quarterback.

More importantly, perhaps Arizona presents Simpson's best opportunity at the next level.

That's quite the statement to make given the Cardinals' history, but maybe the stars have aligned for both parties to make things right.