Stetson Bennett will start preseason opener for Rams

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay announced Thursday that Stetson Bennett will start Saturday in the preseason against the Kansas City Chiefs. Ty Simpson will also play. Bennett gets the first nod under center in a heated quarterback competition.

Bennett and Simpson are competing for the backup job behind Matthew Stafford. The fact that Bennett will play on Saturday tells us this battle may be closer than initially thought.

Stafford has been resting on an every-other-day basis after missing the entirety of training camp last year. Bennett has largely been working with the first-string in Stafford’s absence. Simpson mostly has played with the reserves.

But Bennett has seemed to struggle with turnovers of late. He threw at least two interceptions in Tuesday’s joint practice session with the Dallas Cowboys. After what reportedly was a hot start to camp, Bennett has cooled.

There have not been many reports on how Simpson has fared in practice, especially since camp at Loyola Marymount as concluded and the team moved back to their facility at Woodland Hills. The preseason will be telling for the first-round rookie, and if all goes according to plan he will be put back on the shelf for the regular season.

The Rams, of course, hope that Stafford will continue his string of good health and be available for all 17 regular season games in 2026. While Bennett and Simpson should earn the right to backup last year’s MVP, it’s in the best interest of the team that they don’t see the field—except for when LA could rest starters in a meaningless Week 18 contest.

Saturday in Kansas City will be an important check-in on the quarterback competition. The outcome could be swayed by how each of Bennett and Simpson perform.

Bennett seemed to have a significant lead on the rookie. Simpson may be able to pull ahead starting with a strong performance on the road.