LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay said Stetson Bennett IV might not play during any of the three games on the team’s preseason schedule, which could indicate the fourth-year pro has the inside track on the backup quarterback job.
Rookie quarterback Ty Simpson, a first-round pick from the University of Alabama, “definitely” will play for the Rams in the preseason, which begins next weekend with a road game against the Kansas City Chiefs, McVay said Saturday.
McVay historically strives to keep all of his most important players off the field through the entire preseason, and that usually includes his No. 2 quarterback. Jimmy Garoppolo didn’t play in either of the past two preseasons during his tenure as Matthew Stafford’s backup.
Bennett has yet to take a snap in a regular-season game since the Rams selected him in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft, but the former University of Georgia star came into this training camp alongside Simpson as the only candidates to back up Stafford, the 38-year-old NFL MVP and a former Georgia star himself.
After the Rams surprisingly used the 13th overall pick on Simpson last April, they didn’t re-sign Garoppolo, who is currently not on an NFL roster.
McVay said earlier in the week that he has seen significant growth from the 28-year-old Bennett.
“He’s just taking advantage of his reps,” McVay said. “He’s aggressive. He’s a playmaker. He’s going to be aggressive, but not reckless. He can make some things happen off-schedule. The way that we’re able to get in and out of the huddle in terms of his overall command has been significantly improved.”
The 5-foot-11, 192-pound Bennett, a two-time national champion during his storied college career with the Bulldogs, received significantly more practice snaps than Simpson during the Rams’ two weeks of training camp at Loyola Marymount University. The team returned to its training complex in Woodland Hills on Saturday.
According to running back Blake Corum, Bennett is “taking a leap and being a field general, taking total command of the offense. You can hear it in the huddle when he’s calling the plays. He’s saying it with authority. He’s (excelled) in this camp, and he’s only going to continue to get better. It’s a great thing to see.”
While Bennett has yet to play in an NFL game that counts, he has played extensively in the preseason for Los Angeles during previous years. Bennett missed his entire rookie season in 2023 while dealing with mental health issues, but he has been the Rams’ third-string quarterback for the past two seasons.
Rookie quarterback Matthew Caldwell is also in camp with the Rams after concluding his college career with one season as Arch Manning’s backup at Texas last fall.