Stetson Bennett is finally in line to be Rams' backup QB, 4 seasons after his Georgia glory days

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stetson Bennett played in 37 football games during his final three seasons at the University of Georgia. He learned to thrive under enormous pressure, and he experienced incredible highs while quarterbacking the Bulldogs to two national championships. And since he left school 3 1/2 years ago, Bennett hasn't taken a snap in anything bigger than an NFL preseason game — but that might change this fall. The Los Angeles Rams are sending Bennett out again as their starter in their preseason opener at Kansas City on Saturday night. Exhibition games are fun, and Bennett has generally played well in them during his four seasons with the Rams. But this is one of the most successful college quarterbacks of the 21st century, one who went 29-3 as a starter for Georgia, and Bennett admits he has missed real competition. “It’s definitely tough,” Bennett said this week. “We get into this because A, we love football, and B, we love to compete. It definitely was tough just watching out there, and not really doing anything in practice and not really doing anything on Sundays. Again, we love to compete. It has been a test of patience, a test of willpower.” The fourth-round pick in 2023 has yet to play in a regular-season game for the Rams, but Bennett's interminable internship finally might be ending this season. With veteran Jimmy Garoppolo's departure after the Rams drafted Ty Simpson, Bennett became the Rams' top candidate to back up MVP Matthew Stafford this fall. Unless the Rams sign a veteran quarterback late in the preseason, Bennett will be one snap away from leading a powerhouse NFL team with Super Bowl aspirations. Bennett played in the 2023 preseason as a rookie before taking the year away to address his mental health. He returned to the Rams in 2024 and served as their third-string quarterback for the past two seasons, playing only in the preseason and rarely even getting significant practice reps. He says this slow path with the Rams has taught him “patience.” “I was trying to do the best that I can for me, for the organization, and taking a step forward every single day,” Bennett added. "You’re not going to solve all the world’s problems today, and it won’t be tomorrow, and it probably won’t be for a long time. Just keep stacking days, keep getting better, and trust that one day it will be better.” Bennett credits much of his perspective to quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone, who kept Bennett involved each week while Stafford and Garoppolo took care of the Rams' actual quarterbacking. Even if the Rams go into the season with Bennett as their QB2, that’s no guarantee he’ll get important NFL action. After all, Garoppolo got a grand total of 84 snaps in the past two seasons because Stafford has missed only one full game because of an injury since 2022. But Sean McVay has praised Bennett's development in training camp — and in perhaps the truest measure of McVay's opinion, the coach publicly considered holding out Bennett from this preseason game. McVay traditionally doesn't allow any of his most important players to touch the field during the preseason, but the Rams likely didn't want to force Simpson to play most of the game against the Chiefs. “He’s doing great,” McVay said of Bennett. “He really has (grown), and I’ve mentioned it. ... He’s a playmaker. He’s going to be aggressive, but not reckless. He can make some things happen off-schedule, and the way we’re able to get in and out of the huddle in terms of his overall command has been significantly improved upon.” The Rams shocked the NFL by drafting Simpson, but he is clearly behind Bennett on the depth chart. Bennett has received the large majority of snaps during training camp, with Simpson sometimes not getting any action in team drills. Simpson likely needs live snaps just as much as Bennett, however: Although he started at Alabama last year, it was Simpson’s only collegiate season as a first-stringer. He played in 31 games and threw only 523 passes over his four seasons with the Crimson Tide. Not many players chosen in the top half of the first round head into their rookie season with no expectation of touching the field, but the Rams currently seem content to allow Simpson to mature behind Stafford and Bennett for a full year and more. “Certainly it’s a huge difference just from college to the NFL, and then practice to a game,” Simpson said. “You don’t get hit in practice, so it’s going to be a whole different lifestyle — making people miss, trying to make sure you get the ball out quick. ... It’ll be fun this weekend to get my cleats in the ground and see how it is.” ___ See AP’s full NFL coverage here