The Rams may have a backup quarterback competition on paper, but the early signs in training camp suggest this is less of a true battle and more of a holding pattern behind Matthew Stafford.
Stetson Bennett has handled every snap the second-team quarterback would normally get through the first few days of camp. When Stafford sat out the opening day while the team managed his workload, Bennett worked with the starters.
Then, with Stafford back on Monday, Bennett still took most of the backup reps. Ty Simpson, meanwhile, is being eased in slowly as he gets more comfortable in the offense.
That fits with what Sean McVay said after the draft, when he was asked whether Simpson would back up Stafford. McVay’s answer was simple: “We'll see, he's going to compete with Stetson.”
Sports Illustrated’s Gilbert Manzano, who was at Rams camp on Monday, made the situation sound even less settled. “Simpson might not be ready to be the backup quarterback, and I’m not sure the team wants him to be that in his rookie season,” said Manzano. “He was third in line in Monday’s practice and saw limited snaps behind Stafford and Stetson Bennett.”
That leaves Bennett in a familiar spot. He’s in his fourth season with the Rams, but his game action has been limited to the preseason.
The concern is obvious: with his smaller frame and the limitations he’s shown as a passer, asking him to survive a full game would be a dangerous proposition. Still, he may be the favorite simply because he knows the system better than anyone else in the room.
The Rams haven’t exactly treated the backup quarterback spot like a priority under McVay. In 2023, they lost a game after turning to Brett Rypien.
In 2020, when McVay had seen enough of Jared Goff, the Rams went to John Wolford and even started him in a playoff game while Goff was healthy. In 2022, after Stafford got hurt, the Rams leaned on Wolford and Bryce Perkins.
Baker Mayfield’s fourth-quarter comeback is the moment everyone remembers, but Wolford started that game before getting hurt.
Manzano wrote that he’s “not convinced the team has full confidence in Bennett taking over as the starter,” and added, “If Bennett doesn’t show improvement in the summer, the Rams could be forced to cut him and look for a veteran on the open market or somehow bring back Jimmy Garoppolo. “
That possibility makes the whole situation feel a little too familiar for a team that should want more certainty behind Stafford. Stafford is older, has dealt with injury issues, and last year managed a herniated disc during training camp. He hasn’t missed a game over the last two seasons, but the Rams know how quickly that can change.
The odd part is that the Rams still don’t seem fully invested in finding out what they have in Bennett. When they could have started him in Week 17 of 2024, they chose Garoppolo instead. Bennett has now been in the building for four years, and the team either still doesn’t know enough about him or isn’t eager to test him in a real spot.
As for Simpson, the long view appears to matter more than the depth chart right now. After the draft, it was reported that the Rams would consider it a win if he never started a game before the end of his rookie contract. That tells you where their priorities are: development first, backup duty later.
So while camp may present this as a competition, it might be more of a label than a real contest. And if the Rams don’t trust Bennett or Simpson to be Stafford’s safety net, that’s a serious question hanging over the most important position on a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
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