Rams GM Les Snead Reveals Stetson Bennett Plans
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The Los Angeles Rams were largely expected to use the 2023 NFL Draft to select a quarterback. Not only because the past season saw them use four different signal-callers but also because Matthew Stafford was the only quarterback on the roster until recently.
But being without a first-round pick, something which they haven't had since 2016, the Rams were forced to look at that "second-tier" of quarterbacks, which doesn't make it surprising that when they had the opportunity to land one with the No. 128 overall pick in the fourth round, they pulled the trigger on Georgia's Stetson Bennett.
In a recent interview on the "Rich Eisen Show," Rams general manager Les Snead gave a little insight into what they want out of Bennett.
"Anytime you go into the draft, you never know with a QB, there’s only so many of them,” Snead said. “But we did think that it could be very beneficial if we could find a young quarterback to develop as a backup. That way you don’t get into, let’s call it, renting QBs for a year.
And also, with our cap situation, veteran backups do cost more in salary against the cap than players on their rookie contracts. So there’s a lot of variables in that."
"Renting" a quarterback is a great way to term what the Rams did by signing Baker Mayfield. Shortly after his release from the Carolina Panthers, Baker signed with the Rams and became their starting quarterback less than 48 hours later to help finish a dismal 5-12 season.
However, instead of re-signing the former No. 1 pick on the one-year $8.5 million deal he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Rams are paying Bennett a team-friendly $4.54 million.
“But the vision was, hey, let’s try to find the best backup QB available, and if we can do that in the draft, that’s even more of a benefit to us. If not, we would’ve pivoted into a different direction,” Snead said.
So there it is. As expected, the Rams selected Bennett hoping to make him No. 2 at quarterback behind Stafford. Judging by the coaching staff's reactions when they got him, they seem very confident the ex-Bulldog can live up to their expectations.
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