Last week, Alabama football star quarterback Ty Simpson declared for the 2026 NFL Draft. That came after reports continued to pop up about the potential of him not just returning for another year of college, but hitting the transfer portal and ultimately finding his way to Tennessee.
His verbal declaration didn’t stop some teams from trying to lure him back to college and the portal, though. AL.com’s Nick Kelly reported that teams were offering him as much as $6.5 million through third-party entities in NIL.
However, on Tuesday, the day before the deadline for Simpson to enter, On3’s Charlie Potter reported that Simpson is signing the paperwork to officially enter. This should finally put an end to the rumors of Simpson returning, as he’s projected to be a first-round selection.
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In 2025, Simpson, from Martin, Tennessee, threw for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns and five interceptions. He had one of his finest games when Tennessee came to Tuscaloosa, as well, tossing for 253 yards, two touchdowns and no picks on 65.5% completion percentage in the win.
This past year was his redshirt-junior campaign and first as the starter. In 2022, he sat behind the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Bryce Young. In 2023, he was behind Jalen Milroe in Nick Saban’s last season as head coach. With the change to Kalen DeBoer, he stuck with the Crimson Tide for 2024, also behind Milroe. He took over the offense in 2025, leading Alabama to a road College Football Playoffs win over Oklahoma before losing to Indiana 38-3.
According to PFF’s recent NFL mock draft, Simpson is projected to go 21st overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers. With Aaron Rodgers slowing down and toward the end of his career, grabbing a quarterback early could make a lot of sense, even if he sat for a year.
This would make Simpson the third quarterback off the board. PFF has Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza going first overall, with Oregon’s Dante Moore going second. Moore could still opt to return for another season with the Ducks, though, which could push Simpson up the board.
