Stetson Bennett was at his best in the most pressure-filled moments at Georgia, and now he looks to be at his best as his NFL career is on the line.
Bennett is essentially competing for the backup job with first-round pick Ty Simpson and Jimmy Garoppolo, an unsigned free agent not practicing with the Los Angeles Rams.
It’s the final year of Bennett’s four-year rookie contract, and so much is on the line.
Super Bowl veteran Matthew Stafford, on the verge of his 18th season, will get limited snaps in the offseason, leaving Bennett and Simpson to take additional first-team snaps.
Rams coach Sean McVay has liked what he has seen from Bennett in the team’s offseason workouts and OTAs.
“I’ve seen tremendous growth,” McVay said on the Rams team website after OTAs. ”Obviously, with Matthew not being out here based on the plan and the schedule that we’ve kind of thought was going to be best for him for now and for the long term, Stetson’s gotten a lot more reps than he would’ve otherwise.
“I think he’s done a really nice job. He’s earning the confidence of his teammates in terms of commanding the huddle. Then, he’s done a lot of good stuff in terms of reading with his feet.”
McVay said that Simpson — the second quarterback selected in the 2026 NFL draft, at 13th overall — has also had good growth.
But, McVay added, “Stetson especially, I think he’s had a really good last couple of weeks, and I’ve been proud of him.”
Bennett, who was selected in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft with the 128th overall pick, has yet to take a snap in an NFL regular-season game.
But the former Georgia two-time CFP Championship MVP showed marked improvement from his first preseason of action (2024) to his second (2025).
Bennett was 41-of-69 passing (59%) or 437 yards with 2 touchdown passes and 5 interceptions in the 2024 preseason.
Those numbers improved in 2025, with Bennett completing 44-of-64 passes (69%) for 512 yards, 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
Bennett, of course, missed the 2023 offseason to focus on his mental health, as the Rams placed him on the reserve/non-football illness list.
Los Angeles GM Les Snead explained Bennett was an “exhausted human being” after his collegiate career, which started at UGA in 2017 and detoured to Jones (Miss.) Junior College in 2018 for a season before his return to Athens to cap his career.
Bennett is no stranger to quarterback competitions against younger, more celebrated prospects.
Bennett bypassed recent Arizona Cardinals NFL draft pick Carson Beck on the UGA depth chart in the second game of the 2021 season, taking over as JT Daniels’ backup and eventually moving into the starting role to lead the team to the first of its back-to-back championship seasons.
The Rams will report to training camp in Woodland Hills, California, in late July leading into the preseason.
Bennett projects to get a great deal of action when Los Angeles opens the preseason on Aug. 15 at Kansas City before returning home to SoFi Stadium to face New Orleans (Aug. 22) and the Los Angeles Chargers (Aug. 27).
Stafford, who didn’t play in the preseason last year, is expected to be under center for the Rams’ season-opening game at home against San Francisco on Sept. 27.
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