The prevailing thought has long been that Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson will enter the NFL Draft and fly off the board within the first five to 10 picks this coming April, but circumstances have changed.
Simpson had a rough final few games of the regular season and put forth a miserable performance against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, going 19-for-39 with 212 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
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This has some wondering if Simpson will ultimately elect to return to school for another year, but if he does, will he actually play for Alabama?
Keelon Russell seems in like to take over under center for the Crimson Tide next season, which has Dane Brugler of The Athletic pondering the possibility of Simpson entering the transfer portal.
“I do wonder if this could be a Carson Beck-like situation, where maybe it’s time for both sides to move on?” Brugler said. “… Is this a situation where does he maybe go with the Beck plan, where he declares but keeps his options open, and if another team comes in and says, ‘Hey, we’ll give you a couple [of million dollars], come be our quarterback?'”
This would certainly be a wild and unexpected move on the part of Simpson, who some actually felt was the best quarterback in this year’s draft class up until his late slide.
Simpson has thrown for 3,268 yards, 26 touchdowns and five picks while completing 64.3 percent of his passes this season. Solid numbers for sure, but again, his late-season struggles could ultimately affect his draft stock.
Of course, if Simpson ends up having a strong football in the College Football Playoff and leads the Crimson Tide on a deep run, it would go a long way in re-establishing his stock. But if that doesn’t happen? Simpson will have a critical decision to make.
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If the 22-year-old did decide to forego the NFL Draft and enter the transfer portal, there would surely be no shortage of interest in him, and it would be incredibly interesting to see where he ends up.
That being said, the most likely scenario is still Simpson declaring for the draft when it’s all said and done.
For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.