Why TNF’s Andrew Whitworth Wasn’t Surprised That the Rams Drafted Ty Simpson

Andrew Whitworth wasn't shocked when the Los Angeles Rams drafted Ty Simpson, and he has the receipts to explain why.

Rich brought Whitworth on for the "speak for Matthew Stafford" portion of the show. Whitworth opened with a joke about Stafford's wedge game, then got serious. He didn't know the pick was coming, but he understood why it might.

"For me when I start to look at, all right, when I'm around the organization the last few years, and I just look at what's been going on with Matthew kind of at one point not really sure how long he was going to play," Whitworth told Rich. The contract conversations, the maybe-explore-the-market chatter, the open questions about the back end of his career. None of it was negative, in Whitworth's read. It was Stafford trying to figure out what he wanted next.

Whitworth then framed the move from the Rams' side. Sean McVay, Les Snead, Kevin Demoff, and Tony Pastoors have built a roster philosophy that runs in one direction: always all-in. "Why would they not be considering, hey, if we have a high enough pick, why would we not want a quarterback of the future?" Whitworth said. The Jared Goff comparison was right there. The Rams once drafted a quarterback they weren't sure of and built around him until they were. They've done it before.

The alternative, Whitworth pointed out, is the panic move. "You don't have to go trade three first round picks next year or whatever it may be to put yourselves behind the eight ball just to get a guy you believe in."

Rich laid out the local conversation. Mason Lemon was sitting there. Rueben Bain was sitting there. McVay's reluctance to play rookies is well documented. And then there's the human side, the part that involves Stafford. "You want to be the one to tap yourself on the shoulder and say, you know what, this is it," Rich said. The Simpson pick starts a clock, even if no one in the building intends it that way.

Whitworth knows that clock personally. In 2015, in a contract year, he asked the Cincinnati Bengals for an extension and got nothing back. The week of the draft, he dared the Bengals to draft a tackle. They drafted two, back-to-back, in the first and second rounds. "For the first time in NFL history they drafted back-to-back tackles," Whitworth said. He played seven more years there.

The lesson he passed to Stafford was direct. "Matthew Stafford will play the game of football in the NFL for as long as Matthew Stafford wants to." The other half is also true. Whitworth was upset with Mike Brown and the organization at the time. He still mentored the rookies and had them over for dinner. Two things were true at once.

"NFL," Whitworth said. "It's called not for long because you are fighting to hold the position you hold each and every year."

On the press conference McVay called "Mr. Grumpy," Whitworth shrugged. McVay is intense. Plenty sets him off. What Whitworth knows for sure: McVay was 100 percent behind drafting Simpson, and McVay still considers Stafford the quarterback for as long as Stafford wants the job.

Then the close. Last time the Lombardi was lifted at SoFi, Stafford was holding it. "Let's go do it again," Whitworth said.