The Los Angeles Rams rocked the boat a little bit when they unexpectedly took former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson off the board at No. 13 overall in the first round.
While there was plenty of backlash both from fans and social media, what caught attention more than anything else was head coach Sean McVay's reaction. In a press conference reaction that went viral, the Rams head coach appeared to be lost for words, saying very little about the selection.
Things got even more interesting when Simpson himself revealed he had never spoken to McVay even once before.
New Rams quarterback Ty Simpson connects with head coach Sean McVay for the first time ever
All of those things put together made it seem like Simpson was headed into a hostile situation where he was not wanted. But, at least based upon a video that recently surfaced, it doesn't appear McVay is upset at all -- or at least not to the degree that was originally insinuated.
It shows an interaction between McVay and Simpson after the phone is passed to the head coach to welcome the quarterback to Los Angeles, where he'll join a room along Matthew Stafford and Stetson Bennett.
It was an emotional moment for Simpson to connect with who could be his head coach for several years to come.
The call that brought Ty to the Royal + Sol. 📞 pic.twitter.com/SNl64E4NLM
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) April 24, 2026
"Congratulations, man," McVay said. "I'm excited to get to work with you and it's going to be a lot of fun, buddy."
Simpson had an ambitious response to that, though it seemed to be more out of emotion than an implication of immediate expectation.
"Let's go make history, coach," Simpson replied. "Yeah, no, and hey, enjoy this night, man. You earned it. Have fun, tell your family we're excited to meet them, and I can't wait to get going with you, buddy."
There has been some reaction to the middle of that quote where McVay says, 'yeah, no,' but when one watches the clip, it's clear he did not mean it the way it looks on paper.
Rams selection of Ty Simpson with No. 13 overall pick was polarizing
Regardless of the differing personal opinions on the decision Los Angeles made Thursday, the one thing that is concrete is that Ty Simpson is indeed a Rams quarterback until further notice.
Simpson was expected to be selected either at the tail-end of the first round or at some point in the second round, so it caught many off guard that he was selected ahead of players who were expected to be among the top five picks, like former Miami defensive standout Rueben Bain.
It's clear the Rams see some real upside in Simpson, or they would not have made the choice they did in the first round.
But, by any means, Simpson lacks experience and still has a ton of polishing up and developing to do after he played just 31 games over four years and finished out the final four games of his career with a 57% completion rate.
He'll have the chance to start proving the Rams right as things get going, with offseason work just on the horizon.
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