Why Rams QB Ty Simpson Hasn’t Separated From Stetson Bennett

While the Los Angeles Rams may not publicly advertise a quarterback battle behind Matthew Stafford during training camp, all eyes will be on Stetson Bennett and Ty Simpson. With many in the media disagreeing with the Rams taking Simpson with the 13th overall pick, tthere will be those doing what they can to fit a personal narrative.

Anything that comes out about Simpson, especially negative, will almost certainly go viral and create headlines. That’s exactly what happened this week when The Athletic’s Nate Atkins reported that neither Simpson nor Bennett has separated themselves so far in the battle for QB2.

Neither Ty Simpson nor Stetson Bennett has been able to separate in the Rams' QB2 battle, per @NateAtkins_

With Jimmy Garoppolo leaning toward retirement, the Rams view the backup QB role as a "significant" need behind Matthew Stafford.

(via @TheAthletic) pic.twitter.com/T9q4s6VNkm
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) June 24, 2026

Almost immediately, the headline took on a shape of its own with many going back to questioning the pick in the first place. “The Rams could have taken Makai Lemon or Kenyon Sadiq” or “What do you mean the 13th overall pick can’t beat out a former fourth-round selection?”

It wasn’t reported that Simpson had performed poorly or that the Rams weren’t happy with his development. In fact, McVay stated the opposite, “Ty, like the rest of the rookies, are doing a really nice job but overall, I’ve been really pleased.”

We’re not even into July and the narratives being spun up are already becoming exhausting.

At this point in the offseason, something like this shouldn’t even be a storyline. The Rams have only had a handful of practices and only two of them have been open to the media. As head coach Sean McVay noted in a press conference before one of those media sessions, “Again, this isn’t real football until we put the pads on.”

Right now, quarterbacks are essentially throwing against air as there’s minimal contact. Players are learning the system as it's being installed and taking it from the classroom to the football field. At the end of the day, Simpson is in his first few months of the system while Bennett is in year four.

It would be extremely concerning for Bennett and how he’s been developed over three years if he was falling behind. An argument can be made that it says more about Bennett not being ahead than it does about Simpson.

While the media may hype up a quarterback competition between Simpson and Bennett, it simply doesn’t exist in the way that many want to think of it. That’s not to say that the two players aren’t competing. McVay made it very clear when the Rams drafted Simpson that he would compete with Bennett.

With that said, Simpson is on his own development path. It shouldn’t be that difficult to grasp. The Rams aren’t going to rush him along as he’s a long-term investment. When the preseason depth chart releases in a few months, Simpson will almost certainly be listed behind Bennett. It’s how the Rams typically handle rookies. Almost certainly, as this report from Atkins did, that headline will blow up and take on a life of its own as well.

Simply put, there is nothing to be concerned about right now when it comes to Simpson. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported, “If (the Raiders) stay true to their word, even if Cousins were to get injured early in the season, they'd probably rather play Aidan O'Connell over Mendoza.”

Much like the Raiders and Mendoza, the Rams understand that Simpson is still in the early stages of his development and they have no plans to speed up the process.

If Simpson struggles throughout the preseason and doesn’t appear comfortable, there may be some cause for concern. However, it seems early to overreact over a handful of OTA practices.

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