It was a roller coaster year for Alabama and its starting quarterback. The Crimson Tide began the season with an embarrassing upset loss to Florida State before rallying to make the SEC Championship Game. Then, they fell flat in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl on Thursday with the biggest postseason loss in program history, 38-3 to Indiana.
Many of those ebs and flows followed Ty Simpson’s play through his first year as the Tide’s starting QB. The redshirt junior played well enough to enter the Heisman Trophy race and first-round NFL Draft conversation, but the former faded away done the stretch and the latter looks to be off the table after Simpson threw for just 67 yards in Pasadena before a fractured rib and a coach’s decision sent him to the sidelines.
ESPN’s Jordan Rodgers put it best on Get Up Friday morning: “He had the most to gain and the most to lose, and he lost a lot.”
"He had the most to gain and the most to lose, and he lost a lot."@JRodgers11 believes Ty Simpson SHOULD come back to Alabama after losing to Indiana in the CFP 👀 pic.twitter.com/Ya7PqZUzVl
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 2, 2026
Jordan Rodgers thinks Ty Simpson should come back to Tuscaloosa for 2026
Alabama has a crowded QB room. In fall camp, Simpson had to win a three-way QB competition over five-star true freshman Keelon Russell and redshirt sophomore Austin Mack, who followed Kalen DeBoer from Washington. Now, after Simpson cemented himself as one of hte top QBs in the SEC, it’s unlikely that all three return for 2026.
At times this season it appeared most likely that Simpson would be off to the NFL, leaving Mack and Russell to compete for the job next year. Now, as Rodgers laid it out, Simpson almost has to come back. Not only was his draft stock hurt by his play down the stretch, but a player with such a small sample size of film would need to put together a stellar pre-draft process to solidify a spot in Round 1.
That would be nearly impossible for Simpson who will begin the offseason rehabbing from the fractured rib he suffered on Thursday, the bursa sac on his throwing elbow that ailed him in the final weeks of the year, and whatever other injuries he was battling since the Iron Bowl.
It would be in Simpson’s best interest to return to Alabama, especially considering the lucrative NIL package he would undoubtedly receiver to forgo the NFL Draft and the transfer portal. If he does come back, then DeBoer will face a difficult decision with the rest of his QB room. Should he prioritze Mack, who relieved Simpson on Thursday to limited success or Russell, the No. 2 QB in the 2025 class behind Michigan’s Bryce Underwood? That’s if he’s able to keep either of the two knowing they have no real shot to start next season.
Simpson’s decision will be the first major domino of Alabama’s offseason, and DeBoer needs him to make it soon with the transfer portal open from January 2, to 16.