Is Substance Abuse the Cause of Stetson Bennett’s Absence from the NFL?

Stetson Bennett (“The Mailman”) Is A Georgia Bulldogs Legend

In 2021, Stetson Bennett took over the Georgia Bulldogs starting quarterback role from JT Daniels then went on to lead the Bulldogs to two consecutive NCAA championships. Bennett was named the Offensive MVP of both championship games.

In the words of ESPN:

“The Georgia Bulldogs quarterback started his career as a walk-on for the team in 2017 but ended it as a UGA football legend.”

Bennett is nicknamed “The Mailman“. The Sporting News describes the moniker as “among the most apt on the nickname-position relevance scale in recent history[,]” and furnishes the backstory:

“When Bennett was a student at Pierce County High School in Blackshear, Georgia, he attended recruiting showcases all across the country. He showed up for each in a very specific — yep, you guessed it — hat. It was a US Postal Service hat, which he donned proudly while still impressing as a passer.”

Of course, Bennett went on to deliver two consecutive national championships for the Georgia Bulldogs, cementing his nickname.

Bennett’s Public Intoxication Arrest

In January 2023, shortly after the second Georgia championship, Bennett was arrested in Dallas, Texas, on public intoxication charges. Video footage of the arrest was released in early April 2023.

Bennett was charged with a misdemeanor.

Despite the arrest, the Rams drafted Bennett in the fourth round of that year’s draft.

ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler reported, “The Rams felt like they had the right culture for Stetson Bennett, a championship DNA. And this was one of their favorite players in the entire draft.”

Going into the 2023 NFL Draft, some teams expressed concerns about “bad behavior” on Bennett’s part, which Fowler described as “character and maturity concerns.” He said:

“[While] [s]ome teams had that issue, the Rams did not. So, they believe in the player in a big way. And this is the first quarterback taken in the Sean McVay era by the Rams, so this is a pretty big deal.”

Bennett Struggled Early On With the Rams and Was Placed on the Team’s Non-Football Injury/Illness List Without Any Real Explanation.

Bennett’s career in the NFL got off to a shaky start. As reported by NFC West Writer Eric Williams of Fox Sports:

“During training camp, Bennett at times made plays but struggled during exhibition play, completing just 50% of his passes for 347 yards, with a touchdown and three interceptions in three preseason games.

“He missed L.A.’s season-opening [victory] against the Seahawks for what the team reported [to be] a right shoulder injury. The following week, he was placed on the non-football injury/illness list for the rest of the season for an undisclosed reason.”

As reported by Turf Show Times on March 26, 2024, the reasoning for Bennett’s placement on the non-football injury/illness list “was never revealed.”

“[W]e may never know truly why he took his rookie year off from football. He was certainly scrutinized for not being available when starting quarterback Matthew Stafford went down with an injury. However, this, as the Rams representatives told the media was in fact “bigger than football” and so the team stayed loyal to Bennett and never allowed any info to leak about his absence.

Speculation About Substance Abuse and Bennett’s Future

There has been speculation online that Bennett’s absence is related to substance abuse. Although neither the Rams nor the NFL have supplied any information in this regard, the speculation seems to derive from Bennett’s January 2023 arrest on public intoxication charges.

On February 22, 2024, BroBible, a lifestyle website that delivers breaking sports news, reported:

“Rumors have swirled that he has struggled with substance abuse in the past. Again, those are just rumors, and there’s been nothing with a whole lot of substantiation to that end.

“But, that would certainly fit with the non-football illness list designation that Stetson Bennett had for basically the entire season.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, even Bennett’s supporters express concerns about his struggles, including potential issues with substance abuse.

Going forward, the Rams are hoping Bennett can overcome any demons he may be battling.

Turf Show Times notes:

“Fast forward to now and Bennett is expected to be back with the Rams. He was hoping to get that opportunity and had been reportedly training and working out in Dallas, Texas. General manager Les Snead came out and explained that Bennett was in fact working out in Dallas and that we should expect Bennett to be with the Rams this off-season.”

With Bennett’s fellow Bulldog Matthew Stafford as QB1, and with Jimmy Garoppolo now in the fold, the Rams certainly have an interesting quarterback room. And, since Garoppolo is suspended for the first two games of 2024, there appears to be a role for Bennett to play.

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