Rams' Jimmy Garoppolo Shut Down For Preseason, Stetson Bennett Could Win QB2 Role

Sam Garcia | Aug 9, 2024

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Football Sundays are back. The Rams will have their first preseason game of the 2024 season on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi Stadium. The preseason is a prime time to see the depth of talent a team has and iron out any kinks before the regular season begins.

Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay does not plan on having any starters play in the preseason for the obvious reason of preventing unnecessary injuries before important games. 

At the quarterback position, the second-string is Jimmy Garoppolo. But, McVay told the Athletic that the two-time Super Bowl champion will also be sidelined during the preseason. Although Garoppolo is not the starting quarterback, McVay would prefer to preserve the health of key backup players like him. 

That puts the ball in the hands of third-string quarterback Stetson Bennet, who McVay told the Athletic will take the majority of the snaps throughout the preseason. The Georgia product was drafted by the Rams as the No. 128 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft. 

Last season, Bennett played in all three of the Rams’ preseason games. But, after the Rams’ first regular season game on Sep. 10, the back-to-back NCAA national champion inexplicably disappeared for the remainder of the season. It was later reported that Bennett had to step away from his rookie season to address his mental health concerns. 

Before Bennett’s rookie season was cut short, he put up some promising stats in the Rams’ first preseason game against the Chargers on Aug. 13, 2023. Although the Rams lost, he threw 191 yards, scored one touchdown, and completed 17 passes out of 29 attempts.

Now, the 26-year-old is back and ready to play this upcoming season. With starting quarterback Matthew Stafford and second-string Garappolo on the sidelines during the preseason, Bennett has an opportunity to potentially claim the second-string spot. 

It will be an incredibly difficult task for Bennett, especially because he has very little NFL experience and no experience in a regular season game. Also, the Rams just acquired Garappolo on a one-year contract, so it seems unlikely that they will demote the decade-long NFL veteran to third-string quarterback. 

However, it was reported in March that Garappolo was suspended for the first two games of this season for violating the NFL’s drug-enhancing policy. If Bennett can channel the back-to-back national champion version of himself, the door is open for the third-string quarterback to swoop in and take Garappolo’s spot.