As the LA Rams clear the hump of Week 2 of the 2024 Rams Training Camp, there remains no true consensus about the future status of backup quarterback Stetson Bennett. Is he a long term solution to the roster post-Matthew Stafford? Or is he simply a glorified quarterback for the scouting team, a young man who gives the defense plenty of work defending a mobile quarterback.
If you ask Steson Bennett himself, he sees himself in competition for a starting role every day, no matter what the circumstances or the odds. After all, he is no stranger to being overlooked and facing almost insurmountable odds to compete for, let alone win, a starting quarterback role.
While that won’t be the case for Bennett, it’s wise of him to prepare to be ‘that’ guy. In the NFL, you can never predict when a window of opportunity opens.
Johnathan Williams of Sports Illustrated featured Stetson Bennett in a recent article. In his story, he cited the fact that Bennet brings mobility to the team, much like the Rams used to find in backup quarterbacks John Wolford and Bryce Perkins. And to defend that perspective, he added a solid endorsement from LA Rams Head Coach Sean McVay as to what stands out about Stetson Bennett.
Ultimately, Coach McVay admires Bennett’s ability to make plays with both his arm and his legs:
“I thought Stetson (Bennett), he had some really good reps, some things where we can be a little bit cleaner. But what you do see from Stetson is the athleticism, the ability, if we lose contain up front, he can break it and make plays with his legs.
There were some opportunities where Stetson came in – I was really pleased with his overall improvement, his command, like I mentioned, his attention in the meetings and then when he got his opportunities, whether it was in some 7-on-7 or even in some of the team periods, they are taking steps in the right direction.”
– Sean McVay
While the Rams offense has been designed for, and flourished with, a traditional pocket passer, there has always been a bit of envy and intrigue from McVay towards dual-threat quarterbacks who can find a receiver downfield while also taking off to scramble for a first down. In John Wolford, the team got some of that, but more legs than arm. In Bryce Perkins, the team got some of that, but too inconsistently to be counted on to win games.
But Bennett flashed the ability to do both in Game 1 of the LA Rams 2023 preseason. And it’s clear that Coach McVay would love to see more.
We will all see more in preseason games this season. Even while Bennett lost the 2023 season, he is back and ready to compete once more. And this time, I believe that he will be a new and improved version of himself. He has a year of training camp and preseason games under his belt, and that will be creating the foundation for this year’s training camp.
It’s clear that veteran QB Jimmy Garoppolo is the number two quarterback right now. But he faces a two game suspension, creating some questions as to how the team will handlie his work over preseason games. Traditionally, the team would sit the primary backup. But with Garoppolo suspended for two games, does the team share the workload in preseason with Jimmy G to hold him over his two weeks? The additional benefit of doing so is to mitigate injury risks to Stetson Bennett for his turn as backup QB in Weeks 1 and 2.
The Rams preseason will arrive very soon. Until then, there is a lot of training camp to cover.
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