The Rams’ quarterback picture behind Matthew Stafford still isn’t fully settled, and Thursday’s joint practice with the Saints only added a little more intrigue.
Stetson Bennett and Ty Simpson split the second-team reps, with Sean McVay later making clear the decision had less to do with a shakeup at the depth chart and more to do with the number of snaps available. The Rams had a shortened practice, and McVay said the staff wanted both quarterbacks to get a meaningful look.
"It was really exclusively just because there was so many less reps, you know. So, we had 25 reps.
Setson took 13 of them. Ty took 12 of them.
Dave [Ragone] and I and the rest of the coaching staff will sit down and figure out how we want to approach the game once we're able to look at the film. But it was really more of a reflection of just less reps.
… You don't take for granted, Stetson's never played a live NFL game. He's played a lot in the preseason and so I think you want to just get a consistent body of work for him to be able to run our offense."
The reduced workload made sense on its own. The Saints were coming off a physical session with the Cowboys on Tuesday, so the Rams trimmed things down and tried to make the most of the opportunity.
McVay’s point about Bennett matters, too. If the Rams expect him to open the season as Stafford’s backup, he needs every live rep he can get after spending the past two seasons as an emergency QB3. Experience is still the biggest issue here, and Bennett hasn’t had much of it.
That’s why Simpson’s strong showing last Saturday still hangs over this competition. Even with the caveat that he was working against second-, third-, and fourth-string defenders, while Bennett faced a different level of resistance, Simpson clearly made noise. Bennett, by contrast, was "just okay" in his two series, finishing 4-of-6 for 38 yards.
McVay also leaned into the idea that the staff is still sorting through both quarterbacks, rather than handing anyone the job outright.
"It was really more just continuing to evaluate him and getting him a chance as a young player. We haven't really gone into too much depth … looking at last week, Ty did a great job.
Stetson did what he could. I think it's important to get a fair opportunity for those guys to run the offense with enough snaps, but more than anything, it's just playing real live football for a guy that hasn't played a lot of it, other than preseason games."
That doesn’t sound like a coach declaring the race over. It does sound like a coach who wants more film before locking anything in.
Still, McVay’s larger message was pretty straightforward: the Rams are trying to get Bennett ready to operate the offense, while also giving Simpson enough work to keep pushing. With only two preseason games left and no more joint practices, the window is getting smaller.
For now, Bennett still feels like the cleanest answer as the Rams’ QB2. Simpson has made it uncomfortable, but not enough to change the basic plan just yet.
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