Monti Ossenfort Arizona Cardinals
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ESPN writer Ben Solak predicted that the Arizona Cardinals will trade back into the first round with the New England Patriots to select Ty Simpson at quarterback.
The Arizona Cardinals are still looking for their long-term answer at the quarterback position. There’s a chance that it could come from the upcoming NFL Draft. However, they’re in a tough spot, with only one quarterback being valued as a top-three pick, and other needy teams picking ahead of them.
So, if the Cardinals want to select a future franchise quarterback this year, they may be forced to get creative. That’s exactly what ESPN reporter Ben Solak was looking to do when putting together a new mock draft, in which he predicted where each quarterback would be selected.
Solak has the Arizona Cardinals trading back into the first round with the New England Patriots. There, the Cardinals would be able to take Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson.
This would be similar to what the New York Giants did last season with Jaxson Dart, trading back into the first round to land their franchise quarterback. Arizona also likely wouldn’t have to give up all that much, moving from No. 34 to No. 31. So, particularly if the players who the Patriots are interested in are off the board, this could make for an interesting move.
What to Know About Ty Simpson
Ty Simpson Alabama Crimson Tide
GettyAlabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson came to college in the Class of 2022 as a five-star recruit. The son of a football coach, he had played his high school ball at Westview in Martin, Tennessee.
It would take some time for Simpson to become the starting quarterback at Alabama. For three years, Simpson would be the backup, only taking over ahead of his redshirt junior season in 2025. That would end up acting as his breakout on the national stage. In 15 games last year, Simpson completed 64.5% of his passes for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions.
However, the season ended on a negative note for Alabama and Simpson. While battling injuries in the College Football Playoff, Simpson struggled in a blowout loss to Indiana and was ultimately knocked out of the game on a hard hit that forced a fumble. He had the option to return to Alabama for another season after that, but chose to turn his attention to the NFL instead.
ESPN‘s Mel Kiper Jr. has been fairly high on Simpson throughout the pre-draft process. Currently, that has him ranked second among quarterbacks and 20th overall on his current Big Board.
Mike LaFleur is Happy with the Current Cardinals Quarterbacks
Arizona Cardinals Mike LaFleur
GettyArizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur says that he’s happy with where the team currently stands at the quarterback position.
The Arizona Cardinals have a pair of veteran backups, Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew, who are now expected to compete for the starting job in 2026. Neither is seen as a long-term answer at the position, though.
It’s not hard to predict that the Cardinals might be looking at quarterbacks in the draft. However, even with that, new head coach Mike LaFleur wanted to make it clear that he’s happy with who the team currently has at the position.
“We like where we’re at right now,” LaFleur said.
Now, no coach is going to announce that they don’t like their options at quarterback publicly. That’s a concern that would stay internal. So, it will be interesting to track Arizona’s actions these next few weeks, as they will have some clear opportunities to add quarterbacks, like Simpson, who could compete for the starting job.