Rams Make Decision on Stetson Bennett For First Two Games of Season

John Robinson | Aug 24, 2024

Aug 17, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett (13) throws the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers in the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

During an ABC7 broadcast Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay announced that former 2-time national championship-winning quarterback Stetson Bennett will serve as Matthew Stafford's backup weeks one and two.

The Rams signed Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason after an unsuccessful stint with the Las Vegas Raiders. Garoppolo will miss the first two games of the season for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances. In a press conference, the former franchise quarterback talked about his violation of the NFL's Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).

"I mean, just messed up the TUE, really," Garoppolo said,via the team's official transcript. "I hate to joke about it, but just messed up the TUE when I first got to Las Vegas and yeah, bad timing, I guess."

Garoppolo might not have much to joke about if the Rams feel like they have a true under-study in Bennett. During last year's NFL preseason. the former University of Georgia quarterback showed flashes of potential before missing the entire regular season to focus on his mental health.

In a interview with reporters on Sunday Coach McVay told reporters that he has been please with Bennett's development since his return to the team.

" “I think he’s done a really good job of taking steps in the right direction,” McVay said. “All we talk about is making progress and what does that progress look like? . . . He is progressing. I’ve been really pleased. He hasn’t gotten a ton of reps. He’s gotten a ton of reps in these preseason games, but Jimmy’s taking the majority of the other reps. What I was really pleased that he did is when Matthew ended up coming out after a couple of periods against Dallas, I thought Stetson came in and did a magnificent job when he wasn’t planning on practicing. I thought that was really beneficial for him as well. Doing it against the opponent where we had a couple turnovers, and it was after the game. He was able to bounce back. I thought he saw their coverages well. I thought he made good decisions for the most part. I thought yesterday was a lot of the same"

Bennett has had some ups and downs during the preseason games he participated in which is to be expected since he missed his entire rookie year. McVay's optimism toward his second-year quarterback's development could lead him to stick with Bennett as his backup for the entirety of the season.

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