Rams Double Down on Matthew Stafford Right After Drafting Ty Simpson

The Rams spent draft week telling everybody two things at once, and now they have made both of them official.

Los Angeles used a first-round pick on quarterback Ty Simpson, then followed it by giving Matthew Stafford a one-year, $55 million extension that can reach $60 million with incentives, locking the reigning NFL MVP in through the 2027 season. The move keeps Stafford at the center of the Rams’ Super Bowl window while making clear that Simpson’s future is still exactly that, the future.

That contrast is what makes this story interesting. The Rams drafted Stafford’s likely successor at No. 13 overall, but instead of letting that pick create ambiguity, they immediately turned around and paid the veteran again. This was not some quiet restructure or symbolic reward. It was a real extension, with real money, and it tells you the Rams are not interested in rushing the transition just because they finally found the young quarterback they think can carry things later.

Stafford, now 38, earned that kind of commitment with a monster 2025 season. Reuters reported that he led the league with 46 touchdown passes and 4,707 passing yards, won NFL MVP, and helped take Los Angeles to a 12-5 record before the Rams’ season ended with a loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game. That is not the profile of a quarterback a contender is eager to push aside just because it drafted a prospect.

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So the extension does not contradict the Simpson pick nearly as much as it clarifies it. The Rams want to compete now with Stafford and prepare for later with Simpson. Those two ideas are not fighting each other. They are the plan. Sources say that Los Angeles viewed Simpson as a long-term answer, but one who could benefit from learning behind Stafford rather than being forced into action too early.

The money tells the same story. Stafford is now set to make up to $105 million over the next two seasons, according to multiple reports, which is not backup-mentor money or lame-duck bridge money. That is the kind of investment a team makes when it still believes its veteran quarterback gives it the best chance to win big right now. Simpson may one day be the guy, but the Rams just paid Stafford like he still is.

That also puts the rookie on a familiar kind of development track. Simpson may now be headed into the sort of apprenticeship Green Bay once used with Jordan Love: first-round talent, plenty of upside, but stuck watching for a while because the veteran in front of him is still too good to bench.

For Sean McVay and Les Snead, the move also kills off the short-term speculation that started the moment Simpson was drafted. There had been obvious questions about whether the pick signaled uncertainty around Stafford’s future, especially with his age and the natural wear that comes with this stage of a quarterback career. Instead, the Rams answered that by paying him immediately and extending the window another year. They are not pretending Stafford will play forever. They are just not ready to move on while he is still playing at an MVP level.

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