Everything is seemingly in line for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett to win the backup job this offseason. With Jimmy Garoppolo out of the picture and rookie QB Ty Simpson getting up to speed, it’s quick to say the job is Bennett’s to lose. His long-term NFL career will come into question if he fails to beat out the first-year signal career.
The Rams have made it clear that Bennett is not the long-term answer. It was an ongoing debate for his first few seasons in the league, but the talk
essentially ended the moment Simpson was taken in the first round of this year’s draft. That alone signified that the Rams see Simpson as the eventual successor to Matthew Stafford, with the clock ticking on Bennett’s time in L.A.
It’s not like he wasn’t given plenty of chances either. Leading up to the Simpson pick, Bennett had three full offseasons to give the Rams’ front office reason to consider keeping him in their long-term plans, yet struggled to make the most of his opportunities.
According to the Rams’ official website, he has completed 121-of-195 passes for 1,296 yards and eight touchdowns in seven preseason games, including six starts. Most of his production came during the 2025 preseason, when he tied for the most passing touchdowns (5), finished second in passing yards (512), seventh in completion percentage (68.8%) and fifth in passer rating (105.7). His improvement was noticeable last preseason, but he had an extremely low bar to clear.
In his first two preseasons, he had a 3-to-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The lowlight of his professional career to date was a four-interception outing against the Cowboys in the 2024 preseason opener. While, yes, he did lead a miraculous late game-winning drive, it doesn’t change the fact that he was playing like a below-average NFL quarterback against the backups to the backups.
Improving his preseason completion percentage from 59% in 2024 to 69% in 2025 is no doubt a promising sign. However, it ultimately didn’t matter as he wasn’t playing to win the QB2 job, as veteran Jimmy Garoppolo already had the role locked up without taking a snap.
For the first time in his career, Bennett has a legitimate path to actually winning the backup role behind Stafford. His three seasons in Sean McVay’s system should give him the edge, assuming he capitalizes on the improvement he had shown last preseason.
Read more: Stetson Bennett is completely expendable
Bennett began training camp receiving most of the first-team reps, yet was reportedly outshined by Simpson on Day 1. Granted, it was just one day, and it’s only the first week of camp, but Bennett cannot afford to be outshined very often this offseason. Not if he intends to earn future NFL opportunities once the Rams move on one day.
Simply put, Bennett desperately needs to put the rookie in his place in training camp and preseason if he wishes to stick around in the league. Eventually, the day will come when Simpson overtakes him for the backup job should Stafford and Bennett remain in L.A. after this season. Bennett just can’t let that happen, at least not right away or without a fight.
