Ty Simpson Shines Against Chargers, Proving Alabama’s Former QB Was Better Than He Got Credit For

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At some point, we may have to admit something about Ty Simpson.

He was a really, really good quarterback at Alabama. And watching him play for the Los Angeles Rams is only making that more obvious.

Simpson got the start Thursday night in the Rams’ preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers, and once again, the former Alabama quarterback looked comfortable, confident and completely in control. He completed 18 of 23 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown while helping Los Angeles build a 13-7 halftime lead in an eventual 20-18 victory. At one point, Simpson completed 11 consecutive passes.

It wasn’t necessarily a 300-yard, four-touchdown performance.

It didn’t need to be. What impressed me was the way Simpson played quarterback.

He looked poised. He made smart decisions. He protected the football. He moved the chains. He used his legs when he needed to. And when a play broke down, he showed the exact kind of ability that made him so dangerous at Alabama.

His touchdown pass to Brennan Presley might have been the best example. On third-and-7 from the Chargers’ 11-yard line, Simpson was flushed out of the pocket, moved to his left and delivered an accurate throw on the move for the score.

That is NFL quarterbacking.

And for Alabama fans, it should have looked very familiar. Because we saw Ty Simpson make plays like that all season long in Tuscaloosa.

Ty Simpson has continued to prove himself with the Rams

Thursday night wasn't some isolated performance.

Simpson finished his first NFL preseason completing 47 of 60 passes for 382 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. That comes out to a 78.3 percent completion rate and a 109.9 passer rating.

Three preseason games. No interceptions. That matters.

Yes, preseason football is preseason football. Nobody should pretend Simpson just carved up three elite NFL defenses playing every starter for four quarters.

But this is still professional football. The windows are smaller. The players are faster. The decisions have to happen quicker. And Simpson continues to look like he belongs.

Against the Chargers, he even got an opportunity to face Los Angeles' first-team defense during the first two Rams possessions. The Chargers eventually moved to backups, but Simpson getting those early snaps against starters was another valuable test for a rookie quarterback.

He didn't look overwhelmed. That shouldn't surprise Alabama fans.

Simpson spent years preparing for his opportunity before finally receiving it in 2025.

When he got it, he delivered.

People forget just how good Ty Simpson was at Alabama

I think the way Alabama's 2025 season ended caused some people to forget how good Simpson actually was. Go back and look at the numbers.

In his only season as Alabama's full-time starting quarterback, Simpson completed 305 of 473 passes for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns and only five interceptions.

He completed 64.5 percent of his passes. He finished with a 145.2 passer rating. He led Alabama to 11 victories. And he helped the Crimson Tide reach the College Football Playoff.

Think about that for a second. Twenty-eight touchdown passes. Five interceptions.

In the SEC. In his first and only season as a starting college quarterback.

That is not average quarterback play. That is not "good enough." That is really good football.

Simpson finished his Alabama career completing 334 of 523 passes for 3,948 yards, 28 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He also finished with five rushing touchdowns.

But the numbers only tell part of the story.

Look at some of the games. Against Wisconsin, Simpson completed 24 of 29 passes for 382 yards and four touchdowns. Against Georgia in Athens, he threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns without an interception as Alabama won 24-21. Against Vanderbilt, he threw for 340 yards and two scores. At Missouri, three touchdown passes. Against Tennessee, another two touchdowns and no interceptions. Against LSU, 277 yards. And when Alabama went back to Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff after losing to the Sooners during the regular season, Simpson threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns without turning the football over as Alabama won 34-24.

Ty Simpson helped Alabama win big football games.

Period.

Imagine Ty Simpson behind an elite Alabama offensive line

This is the part I will probably continue believing for a long time.

Give Ty Simpson an elite Alabama offensive line in 2025, and I believe Alabama had enough to win a national championship.

Nobody can prove that. There is obviously no way to go back and replay the season.

But I think it is a completely reasonable argument. Because Simpson's biggest problem was not his ability to play quarterback. Too often, his biggest problem was simply having enough time to play quarterback. Simpson was sacked 29 times during the 2025 season, losing more than 200 yards on those sacks.

Think about what that does to an offense. A sack on first down can destroy a drive. A sack on third down ends one. Constant pressure speeds up a quarterback's internal clock. Routes don't have enough time to develop. Play-action becomes less effective. Deep shots disappear. Coaches start changing the playbook because they know protection cannot hold up.

And eventually the quarterback begins carrying an impossible amount of responsibility. That was Simpson too many times. There were plays when Alabama's offense essentially became: Ty, figure something out.

Escape. Extend. Make somebody miss. Throw on the move. Turn a broken play into something positive. And somehow, he still threw 28 touchdowns against five interceptions. That might actually be one of the most impressive statistics from his season.

Alabama's lack of balance made Simpson's job harder

The offensive line problems weren't just about pass protection, either.

Alabama also struggled to establish the kind of dominant rushing attack that traditionally made life easier for Crimson Tide quarterbacks. According to team statistics, Alabama averaged only around 116 rushing yards per game in 2025.

That changes everything. When Alabama was winning championships under Nick Saban, the quarterback usually benefited from an offense that could punish defenses multiple ways.

Load the box? Alabama could throw.

Play light? Alabama could run.

Bring pressure? Somebody was going to get isolated on the outside.

There was balance. Simpson rarely had that luxury.

Defenses knew Alabama was going to have to rely heavily on the passing game, especially in difficult situations. They could attack Simpson without always having to respect a dominant rushing attack behind him.

And yet he continued producing.

That is why I don't think people should look at the final score against Indiana in the Rose Bowl and decide that tells us everything we need to know about Ty Simpson.

Quarterbacks get too much credit when teams win and far too much blame when teams lose. A quarterback cannot block for himself. He cannot create a running game by himself. He cannot catch his own passes. He cannot control what happens defensively.

What he can do is give his team a chance. Ty Simpson did that over and over again.

His NFL success shouldn't surprise anyone who watched closely

What Simpson is doing with the Rams makes sense. The qualities Sean McVay's offense demands are some of the same qualities Simpson showed at Alabama.

Process quickly. Be accurate. Understand leverage. Get the football out. Move within the pocket. Stay composed when the structure of the play changes. Protect the football.

Simpson has been doing all of it.

His performance against the Chargers wasn't impressive because of some ridiculous box score. It was impressive because he looked like an NFL quarterback.

There is a difference.

A player can put up huge preseason numbers because of busted coverages and broken plays. Simpson looked controlled.

He looked prepared. He looked comfortable. He looked like someone who understood what the offense was asking him to do. And maybe most importantly, he continued avoiding the catastrophic mistakes that often bury rookie quarterbacks.

Through the entire preseason: zero interceptions. That has been part of Simpson's identity for years. At Alabama, he threw only five interceptions on 523 career passing attempts. NCAA.com notes that Simpson finished first in Alabama history in career interception percentage.

That is incredible.

Alabama fans should appreciate what Simpson gave the program

Sometimes you appreciate players more after they leave. I think Ty Simpson may eventually fall into that category.

He waited. He developed. He stayed at Alabama while college football became dominated by the transfer portal. He eventually earned his opportunity. Then, when Alabama finally handed him the football, he helped take the Crimson Tide back to the College Football Playoff.

He wasn't perfect.

No quarterback is.

He had bad throws.

He had bad games.

He certainly had moments he would probably like to have back. But perfection cannot be the standard.

Production has to matter. Winning has to matter. Leadership has to matter. Toughness has to matter. And context has to matter.

Ty Simpson produced. Ty Simpson won. Ty Simpson protected the football. And Ty Simpson took an absolute beating at times and continued getting back up.

Now he's in Los Angeles showing NFL coaches the same things Alabama fans saw.

What could 2025 have been?

I will always wonder. What if Alabama had been dominant upfront? What if Simpson had consistently received three or four seconds instead of immediately having to navigate pressure?

What if Alabama could have leaned on the running game late in games? What if defenses had been forced to respect Alabama's offensive line instead of constantly attacking it?

Maybe the ending is different. Maybe Alabama doesn't lose some of the games it lost. Maybe the SEC Championship Game unfolds differently. Maybe the Rose Bowl looks different. And yes, maybe Alabama wins the national championship.

We'll never know.

Indiana ultimately won the national championship, and Alabama's season ended against the Hoosiers. That is history.

But I refuse to believe that means Alabama didn't have a championship-caliber quarterback. Because I think Ty Simpson was absolutely good enough.

He threw for 3,567 yards. He threw 28 touchdowns. He threw only five interceptions. He won at Georgia. He beat Tennessee. He beat LSU. He won an Iron Bowl. He won a College Football Playoff game on the road.

And he did all of it during his first season as a starter.

Now he is standing in an NFL uniform looking completely comfortable. Against the Chargers, Simpson looked calm.

He looked accurate. He looked athletic. He looked decisive.

Most importantly, he looked like Ty Simpson.

And maybe that is the biggest takeaway.

The NFL isn't suddenly turning Ty Simpson into a good quarterback. He already was one.

Some people just didn't appreciate how good he was while he was wearing crimson.

Give 2025 Ty Simpson the kind of offensive line Alabama championship teams were accustomed to having, and I will always believe there could have been another trophy sitting in Tuscaloosa.

Maybe what we're watching with the Rams isn't Ty Simpson suddenly becoming something. Maybe we're finally getting the chance to see what Ty Simpson looks like when he isn't being asked to survive every other snap.

And based on what we've seen so far, his future looks awfully bright.

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