At first glance, the Rams’ addition of Kliff Kingsbury looks like another example of a loaded coaching staff getting even more firepower. But for Stetson Bennett, it could mean something much more specific: his best summer yet.
Bennett has spent each year since the Rams drafted him in 2023 getting tagged as a possible cut. That label is still hanging over him now, even though he has a real shot to lock down Matthew Stafford’s backup job. And if Los Angeles were to move on from him, it would be a strange call for a quarterback who is, at the very least, the most experienced reserve option on the roster.
He has also earned quiet respect inside the building. Rams coaches have come to see Bennett as a player who can handle the job.
The issue has always been his size. At 5-foot-11 and under 200 pounds, he’s working with a built-in disadvantage.
Kingsbury’s arrival changes that equation.
The Rams’ offense is built to make Stafford’s life easier, and that’s exactly how it should be. But Bennett can’t simply run the same system the same way.
He’s four inches shorter than Stafford, and for Bennett, starting under center isn’t the ideal setup. The fit has to be different.
That’s where Kingsbury’s background matters. He spent time maximizing Kyler Murray in Arizona, and Murray’s 5-foot-10 frame created many of the same vertical issues Bennett faces. Kingsbury helped solve that by moving Murray around, creating pockets from different platforms, and using shotgun and pistol looks to put him in better passing positions.
That kind of work can now be applied to Bennett.
For a Rams team that has already invested heavily in quarterback development, that’s a meaningful development. Los Angeles once leaned on John Wolford and Bryce Perkins in the backup role, and the organization has continued pouring resources into coaching that position. Bennett is the clearest beneficiary of that approach.
Ty Simpson was drafted to be a future franchise quarterback, not to step in right away. Sean McVay has never been eager to hand over the keys lightly.
Bennett, though, has already shown he can run the group in preseason and in practice. Simpson still has a long climb ahead of him to get to that point.
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