Sean McVay hints that Stetson Bennett wasn't the only former Georgia Bulldog affected by Ty Simpson

There was plenty of controversy surrounding the Rams' decision to select former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson at 13th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Not only did it raise some questions about the potential future of Stetson Bennett, who has served as the Rams' emergency backup quarterback, but some also thought it was a slap in the face to veteran signal-caller Matthew Stafford. Instead of choosing to draft a piece to build around Stafford with their first selection, they instead decided to draft his potential replacement years in advance.

The decision drew even more gossip and attention after McVay himself appeared not to be fully behind it, or, at a minimum, was in a bad mood, following the pick. That's all been put away now, as it has been clarified multiple times over that the head coach is ready to welcome the rookie to Los Angeles.

And even though it appears Stafford could play for several more years and is performing at a high level, his veteran status seems to be enough to prompt McVay to start looking ahead. Whether or not he jumped the gun by investing such a high draft pick in a largely unproven, underpolished quarterback out of Alabama, though, is more than up for debate.

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay clears the air on Ty Simpson selection in 2026 NFL Draft

In an interview with Will Compton and Taylor Lewan of Bussin' With The Boys, McVay was candidly asked about the social media fiasco that followed Simpson's selection. In addition to his reaction to that, he also gave an inside look on what went into it all.

"When you go through the draft process... (I'm always thinking about how we can be) the best in the short term and the long term," McVay said.

"There are a lot of decisions that we make, that, on a year-to-year basis. And when you look at, okay, what are the things that have had successful outcomes, where are we currently constructed as a roster, what are the things that we need to do? But let's also not be naive to the fact that we have to plan for the short and the long term. What does that look like to be able to say, 'hey, let's go get it right now, but let's also be able to hopefully sustain over a period of time. And balancing that. "

So, what exactly does McVay mean by this? Well, there's plenty implied, and all of it points to Stafford's future.

"You have the reigning MVP of the league," McVay said. "This guy is like a fine wine. He's getting better with age and my relationship with him, it's special. There's a connection... our personalities really balance each other out. It's a really cool thing that we have, and so, I don't take that for granted."

For McVay, the decision to pick up Simpson doesn't seem to be that he and the Rams feel the need to prepare to replace Stafford imminently because of anything having to do with the level of play. Rather, it seems to be the reverse. The former Georgia quarterback could walk away with his head held high at any point in time.

And regardless of how it's done, it would make sense.

"He has earned the right to be able to walk away whenever he wants to. And, when you're going into year 18, even though he had this incredible year last year, we have to be mindful of that we are so lucky to have him... but if he said at the end of next year, 'hey, this is it for me,' then he's earned the right to do that."

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