Would it better serve the Los Angeles Rams to have rookie first round pick Ty Simpson or fourth-year signal caller Stetson Bennett to be Matthew Stafford’s backup in 2026? It could come down to whether or not Simpson needs development behind the scenes or the first opportunity to gain experience, should Stafford need relief.
If Bennett is ready by now to be the backup, is that the job he should have? Or it is never too soon to prepare Simpson for the starting role?
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Stetson Bennett
I re-watched all of the ‘24 and ‘25 preseason games Bennett played in and came away much more impressed than by anything that happened earlier in his career. The visual growth in his game jumps off the screen when you watch all four sequentially.
Saying Stetson Bennett’s NFL career started with a thud is like saying Conan O’Brien has red hair. After being drafted in the fourth-round, he struggled mightily in preseason action and then missed the first game of the regular season with a shoulder injury. Three days later, he was placed on the Reserve/Non-Football Illness (NFI) list, citing mental health issues, which ended his season. What the issue was, we’ll likely never know, but the Rams obviously agreed it was the best thing for him.
Since then, Bennett hasn’t played in the regular season but has made progress in the offseason.
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2024 Preseason
His first game in the 2024 preseason was actually a much better performance than anything we saw the previous year, and yet it left a very bad taste in the Rams’ fans’ mouths. It should be understandable that after his disastrous, mysterious rookie year, he’d be extremely nervous being back in the spotlight, and it really showed up in the form of four interceptions. Some execution mistakes, coupled with poor choices, left the Cowboys with a late lead, but Bennett refused to throw in the towel and brought the Rams back with a game-winning drive. A touchdown pass to Miller Forristall, yes, Miller Forristall, with four seconds left, sealed the Rams’ victory and might have brought back memories of him leading the University of Georgia to two consecutive national titles.
Bennett’s second preseason start was better, not good, but better. After a meaningless interception where he had to throw on fourth and goal, he led the team, once again, to a fourth-quarter game-winning drive. This time, the winning touchdown was a 47 yard (55 yards in the air) bomb to JJ Lapp, yes, JJ Lapp.
Things looked better.
2025 Preseason
Fewer mental mistakes game by game and some mechanical improvements as well. Most surprising to me was the improved velocity. Whether it was him bulking up a bit or just having the confidence to simply let it fly, it was tangible.
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Parts of both starts were really good, while other parts were simply okay, but the quality throws and decisions would lead you to believe he could be a functional backup. Don’t forget, he’s had fewer than 200 throws against NFL defenses.
His numbers in 2024…41-69 for 437 yds, 59% completion rate, 2TDs and 5INTs
His numbers in 2025…44-64 for 512 yds, 69% completion rate, 5TDS and 3INTs
Big improvement.
With such a small sample size to look at, it’s impossible to make a realistic assessment as to whether Bennett should be the Rams’ QB2, especially when we have zero NFL snaps for Simpson. Having said that, though, just based on the visual improvement and the faith McVay seems to have in him, I’d actually have zero problem with the team going forward with Stetson Bennett as the backup next season.
What say you:
