Los Angeles Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett is entering his third season in the NFL. Bennett, a former Georgia Bulldog, has improved, but is a long way away from starting for the Rams.
The former two-time national champion quarterback is the Rams’ No. 3 quarterback behind starter Matthew Stafford and veteran backup Jimmy Garoppolo. Bennett has yet to attempt a pass in his NFL career, but appears to be set as Los Angeles’ third-string quarterback. The Rams don’t have a fourth-string quarterback competing with Bennett, who is expected to maintain his role on the practice squad.
Despite no significant change in his role, the Rams like where Bennett is entering his third season in the NFL.
“A ton of growth, particularly from two years ago,” Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said regarding Bennett. “A lot of credit to him, working on what he needed to work on to get himself into this situation. But a ton of credit that (quarterbacks coach) Dave (Ragone) too and I’ll say even Jimmy and Matthew. I think they’ve done a great job of just putting arm around him, mentoring him. What awesome two quarterbacks to learn from that have won a crap ton of games in this league. Proud would be the wrong word but for lack of a better term, proud of where he’s at and he’s just continuing to go.”
Bennett is entering a critical phase in his NFL career. He continues to need to exhibit improvement in order to remain the Rams’ third-string quarterback. He typically gets a lot of action in the preseason, so that will serve as a big opportunity for him.
Matthew Stafford is 37 years old, so the Rams are hoping to develop a quarterback that can take over once he retires. With Jimmy Garoppolo also being 33 years old, Bennett is the Rams’ top quarterback of the future option on the Rams’ roster. However, NFL teams expect a lot out of their starting quarterbacks, so Bennett, who is 27 years old, will have to continue proving himself in order to ever get a chance to compete for the starting role in Los Angeles (or with any NFL team).
What next for Bennett? OTAs are complete, but Los Angeles has mandatory minicamp from June 16-18. Bennett will look to get more opportunities at that.
“He needs to play just football, right?” LaFleur added. “We’re out here again. We’re out playing flag football in shorts right now but I know this: He’s going about his process in a professional way each and every day to give himself the best chance when he inevitably gets his ops (opportunities) in August in the preseason.”
Bennett is looking to make the most of his opportunities ahead of the preseason. Last year, Bennett attempted the second-most passes (69) and recorded the second-most passing yards (437) of any quarterback in the preseason. However, Bennett threw five interceptions, which was the most (tied) of any quarterback during the preseason. If Bennett wants a chance to start or consistently serve as a second-string quarterback in the NFL, then he needs to limit turnovers.