Former draft mistake could be on his way out of the Los Angeles Rams heading into the 2025 NFL season

In the 2023 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Rams stunned many by selecting Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett IV in the fourth round. Many didn't have Bennett even remotely graded that high, and he went ahead of several other quarterbacks like Aidan O'Connell, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Clayton Tune, and Tanner McKee, each of whom were regarded as better prospects that year.

Nevertheless, the Rams stuck to their guns on the pick...at least initially. Now, however, it feels more likely than ever that Bennett won't make the roster come the 53-man cutdown. 

The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue left Bennett off of her 53-man roster prediction for this year, backing up my own prediction of the same. 

The Rams will likely keep him throughout camp to just have an additional camp arm, but beyond that, his future with the Rams is uncertain.

Shortly after being drafted, the Rams announced that Stetson Bennett would step away from football, and he missed his entire rookie season for an unknown reason related to his mental health. 

After returning, there was some intrigue that Bennett could push Jimmy Garoppolo for the backup job behind Matthew Stafford. 

However, his debut in a Rams uniform was a total disaster, reflecting why many didn't have high grades on him as a prospect. In just two preseason games, Bennett completed just 59.4% of his passes for 437 yards, two touchdowns, and five interceptions. He also fumbled the ball once. 

Bennett technically became the backup for Stafford, since Garoppolo was suspended for the first two games due to PED use. It wasn't much of a battle between the two, as Garoppolo locked up the backup job as soon as he returned. 

Now with Garoppolo back and not serving a suspension this year, it seems unlikely that the Rams have a reason to keep Bennett around beyond an additional camp arm.

It's tough to separate Bennett from the potential of who else the Rams could have taken there. There were better quarterback prospects, as stated previously, but there were also several other prospects who would have already made significant impacts for the Rams. 

Nick Herbig could have been a valuable part of their pass rush rotation, Jaquelin Roy is an effective run stuffer up the middle, SirVocea Dennis is likely a starting linebacker for the Rams, Olu Oluwatimi might have taken the starting center job right away, and  Dontayvion Wicks is a starting receiver for them as well. That's just players taken between Bennett and the Rams' next selection.

It's a frustrating end to this saga. Bennett has plenty of opportunity to prove me wrong here, but it doesn't seem likely at this stage. At best, he seems like a practice squad candidate...if the Rams don't find an alternative.