Rams’ Stetson Bennett Expected To Be Named QB2

As an NFL community, we’ve become too accustomed to the expectation that a first-round quarterback should be starting Week 1. There are certainly cases in which it’s warranted, but there’s long been an art to developing a young passer on the bench years before the aging veteran starter is ready to give the job up. That seems to have always been the plan for Simpson in Los Angeles. No. 13 overall may feel a bit high for a QB3, but if Simpson can develop into a long-term starting option by the time Stafford retires, no one is going to remember that the Rams didn’t trade back to draft him closer to where he was valued.

So, perhaps the team is stashing Simpson away for a more meaningful eventual debut, or perhaps Simpson just isn’t ready for a No. 2 role. Regardless, Bennett seems primed to serve as the primary backup to Stafford for the first time in his career. Coming off back-to-back CFP National Championship Game victories, Bennett spent his rookie year on the reserve/non-football illness list, while Carson Wentz served as Stafford’s backup quarterback. He’s now been in the league for three years, and because Jimmy Garoppolo served the next two years as QB2, Bennett has yet to make his NFL debut.

With Stafford held out of the preseason for obvious reasons, only Bennett and Simpson took snaps at quarterback for the first two games. Bennett got the start in both games, only playing the first quarter of the first and taking the whoe first half in the second. Simpson came off the bench for Bennett, getting plenty of snaps in his first looks at NFL-caliber play. In the team’s final preseason game, the Rams gave Bennett the night off, all but announcing his place on the depth chart, while Simpson started.

This doesn’t mean the Rams are confident and secure moving forward with a fourth-year passer who hasn’t seen the field. Per Atkins, the team might consider calling a veteran passer, like Garoppolo if Stafford goes down for the long run. But if it’s just going to be.a short-term injury for the starter, the Rams should feel comfortable sending Bennett in for his NFL debut.