Buzz Around Stetson Bennett Continues to Grow
Two years ago, the notion that an NFL team would one day be tempted to move on from a likely future hall-of-fame quarterback in order to replace him with Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett would have been so outrageous as to almost be comical. After all, Bennett, a former walk-on at Georgia, had been replaced by former 5-star J.T. Daniels late in the 2020 season and did not even enter the 2021 season as Daniels' top backup. However, as improbable as it may have once seemed, that exact scenario is playing out entering the 2023 NFL season.
Bennett, who defied all odds to reclaim Georgia's starting quarterback position early in the 2021 season and then promptly proceeded to lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back national titles, experienced a rocky pre-draft process but was ultimately selected by the Los Angeles Rams with the No.128 pick overall in the 4th round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Still, despite the confidence the Rams seemingly had in the former Georgia quarterback, many observers continued to doubt Bennett's viability as a starting quarterback in the NFL. However, recent reports seem to strongly indicate that the Rams view Bennett as much more than a solid backup option.
After his option bonus was picked up by the Rams earlier in the offseason, Matthew Stafford (9) will be on the Rams roster at least through 2024, but former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett is positioning himself to succeed Stafford as the Rams starting quarterback in the future.
The buzz around Bennett began during the Rams mandatory minicamp in June when, according to Yahoo! Sports, Rams Head Coach Sean McVay spoke glowingly about Bennett.
"I've been really pleased with him," McVay said. "The one thing that stands out is when the ball is in Stetson’s hands, the game makes sense to him. He’s got a good feel for being able to get through progressions quickly. He can feel space on the back end as it relates to different coverage counters that he’s seen, but he feels open areas and gets through things quickly. I love the athleticism but there’s a lot of work to be done. He stays nice and steady, doesn’t get too high or low, and he’s fun to be around.”
Then, on the heels of Bennett's impressive minicamp performance, former NFL executive Mike Lombardi appeared on the Pat McAfee Show last week and claimed the Rams actively tried to trade incumbent starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, who missed the final seven games of the 2022 season, early in the 2023 offseason.
“During this off-season, when his [Stafford's] option bonus was getting ready to kick in, they [the Rams] attempted with a lot of effort to trade him," Lombardi claimed. "Any team could’ve had him, but the problem was you had to absorb the $59M. The Rams knew there was no way around that $59 million. They couldn’t get around it unless they traded him and somebody else took it.”
Ultimately, the Rams were unable to find a trade partner for Stafford and elected to pick up his option bonus and 2024 salary which will pay the veteran quarterback $62 million in guaranteed money over the next two seasons. With that type of financial commitment assigned to Stafford, barring injury, it is unlikely that Bennett will supplant his fellow former Georgia quarterback in the next two seasons, but the Rams' willingness to explore trade options for their starting quarterback intimates that Bennett is situating himself to be the heir apparent to Stafford as soon as the 2025 season.
