Rams New QB Stetson Bennett: 'Bad Behavior' vs. 'Championship DNA'?
LOS ANGELES- Matthew Stafford is currently the only quarterback under contract for the Los Angeles Rams, so they were expected to add another signal-caller during the 2023 NFL draft.
In a notable move, the team selected Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett with the No. 128 overall pick in the fourth round, earlier than some anticipated. Nonetheless, according to ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler, the Rams are pleased with how seamlessly Bennett would integrate into their organization.
"The Rams felt like they had the right culture for Stetson Bennett, a championship DNA,'' Fowler said. "And this was one of their favorite players in the entire draft.''
And what about those league-wide concerns about "bad behavior''? Fowler mentions "character and maturity concerns. Some teams had that issue, the Rams did not. So, they believe in the player in a big way. And this is the first quarterback taken in the Sean McVay era by the Rams, so this is a pretty big deal."
Bennett had a storybook college career at Georgia as he went from a walk-on to a back-to-back national champion. Bennett threw for 8,429 yards, 66 touchdowns and 21 interceptions over four seasons at Georgia.
However, concerns about Bennett's character and maturity stem from a January arrest on a charge of public intoxication in Dallas. After determining that he was intoxicated, the police took Bennett into custody when they discovered him knocking on doors in the middle of the night.
Before the draft, an NFC executive told Jeremy Fowler that "many interviewed have non-football concerns about Bennett, who was arrested for public intoxication on Jan. 29 and did not receive universally high marks on combine interviews."
The Rams obviously satisfied themselves in these areas.
Stafford will be the starting quarterback as the Rams head into the 2023 season, allowing Bennett to observe ... and, his critics might argue, allowing Bennett a change to learn and grow.
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