Rams Stetson Bennett's preseason will make everyone forget 2023 struggles

We have all had the chance to listen to LA Rams backup quarterback Stetson Bennett talk about his off-season challenges in the 2023 NFL season on the UNRESERVED podcast. After riding a wave of success at the University of Georgia, Bennett was simply exhausted mentally. He had to compete throughout the COVID-19 scare, then the year after the COVID scare, and all the while he had to dance on the razor's edge of not only not competing, but not even making the team with the depth at the quarterback position. And from those mental gymnastics, Bennett led the University of Georgia to two consecutive NCAA National Championships.

He gets to the part about trying to shed his self-doubts later in the podcast, and it's at that part, in his own words, where it all makes sense. And by 'it all makes sense,' I mean the need to step away from the game of football for a season at the 1:11:26 minute mark:

"Self-confidence for me, it is not innate. It is not, I was not born – like, I was always sure of myself but I am confident in what I do because what I do, I can see. Did I practice throwing 10 balls today, like an out route? Pretty confident I can hit that out route, right? And I do not have to practice everything, but it goes back to the work. If you do not do the work, in my mind, then you do not deserve it.
And so, I think, I do not want to speak for The Man Upstairs, but whenever He designed this place, like, you do not really get to cheat the game, right? Like, you cannot cheat the game.
So work, and then the confidence comes from that. The letting go and almost being an NFL quarterback, being the face that people see. The hero and zero. That is kind of what I’m trying to figure out now."

Stetson Bennett

The LA Rams had to face their own struggles with mental exhaustion in 2022. The rise to the heights of NFL glory by hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, to the constant struggle of competing in the face of another new significant injury to a starting player. After finishing 5-12, LA Rams HC Sean McVay had to step away from the game to rediscover his own passion for football once more. And when he came back, he returned with the knowledge that competition can mean falling short. He came back knowing that the Rams were no longer realistically in the hunt to win a Super Bowl in 2023.

But the Rams finished 10-7 with a roster restocked with bargain basement veterans and passion-filled young players. So stepping away from the game and rediscovering the love of football can indeed have a happy ending.

So what lies ahead for this young quarterback in this season?

Bennett is more prepared than ever for 2024

Throughout the podcast, Bennett refers to the fact that he is learning a great deal from veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford. On the LA Rams, Bennett is more supporting cast right now, rather than thrust into the limelight as was the case in 2023. And he is also watching veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

While Stetson Bennett knows how to play quarterback, he is still learning how to be an NFL quarterback With it comes the maturity to manage the process, and let the outcomes happen. What I mean by that is the knowledge of training over and over, becoming so proficient at the task that it is not driving by deliberate thought, but rather a autopilot version of simply muscular reflexes.

As noted in the quote above, Bennett is dedicated this season to putting in the work, to embracing the grind of repetitive drills of throwing the same passes to the same spot on the football field over and over until he can throw the football to the correct spot with his eyes closed.

2024 is not so much about getting a stronger, more muscular quarterback, although that is what seems to have happened, but rather a quarterback who has toughened mentally to better handle the emotional and social media roller coaster of falling from hero to zero over the span of one week's time.

One game, whether preseason, regular season, or postseason, does not define an NFL player. But, how a player responds the following week can play a significant part in how that NFL player's career unfolds. Every player will face adversity at some point. But it's the champion player who fights that much harder in the face of adversity.

That is why I believe that Stetson Bennett if far more prepared for the 2024 NFL season. He has had his moment of rookie discomfort. He even had his period of doubting whether football is truly meant for him. But now he is back and in the think of things. So, what does that mean for the Rams backup quarterback position?

What does this all mean for the Rams backup QB position?

While the LA Rams have reloaded the roster at the quarterback position, the team did no more than sign veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for one season and add a reserve development quarterback named Dresser Winn. While that does create instant competition for 2024, it does nothing to create options for the team going beyond this season.

Translation: The LA Rams are content with starting quarterback Matthew Stafford and backup quarterback Stetson Bennett for the foreseeable future.

Of course, even as fans focus on one year at a time, the LA Rams are undoubtedly already gazing into their crystal ball toward the future. But that discussion, or series of discussions, can be saved for another day. Right now, the team is preparing for the 2024 NFL season. So how will this all play out in the preseason, and then the season?

For openers, you can expect the LA Rams to give preseason work to all three quarterbacks not named Matthew Stafford for several reasons. For openers, all three quarterbacks need the work in terms of replicating true NFL game-like speed and situations. Secondly, the team knows that Jimmy Garoppolo will spend the first two weeks of the 2024 NFL season away from the team. In that scenario, it's expected that Jimmy G will get work in preseason games to ensure he has plenty of reps to carry him over the void.

But it also means that the Rams will carry Stetson Bennett and perhaps even Dresser Winn on the roster to start the 2024 NFL season. When Garoppolo's suspension is served, Winn will likely be cut and moved to the team's practice squad. It's almost impossible to envision a scenario in which Bennett does not make the roster this year.

Stetson Bennett's preseason will make everyone forget 2023 struggles

The memory of some fans is a bit myopic. In 2023, Stetson Bennett's first preseason game was quite promising. In that first outing, he completed 17 of 29 passes for 191 yards and one touchdown. It flashed enough to put Bennett on the watch list of rookies who might star in the 2023 NFL season. And just for comparison, Houston Texans rookie QB C.J. Stroud completed two of four passes for 13 yards and one interception in that first preseason game. Carolina Panthers rookie QB Bryce Young completed four of six passes for 21 yards.

So there were good reasons for Bennett, and neither Stoud nor Young to be lauded after one week's worth of work in preseason.

Bennett has that type of flash in him. Given time, and patience, that flash will burn consistently bright. It's been quite some time since the Rams have had a young backup quarterback worth cheering for. And just like the abstinence from not having a pick in Round 1 of an NFL Draft for eight seasons, perhaps we have forgotten just how much fun and excitement that can bring to the team, and to the fans.

NFL fans will support players, or choose not to support players, for what happens off the field. But fans are focused on what happens on the football field. And that is what will lead to almost all NFL fans to forget Stetson Bennett's off-field struggles from 2023. He will play well enough to make fans forget last season.

Much of the 2023 preseason work will fall on Bennett, and he will deliver this year. I will not be the least bit surprised if he finishes the 2024 preseason with 40+ completions for 500+ yards and 4+ touchdowns in three preseason games this year. Not only is he better prepared for the NFL in 2024, but the Rams have elevated the talent level of depth players, giving Bennett a more vibrant palette to work with in terms of on-field magic.

You may be tired of hearing about Stetson Bennett, but after he scorches defenses in a preseason game, you will be thankful that we kept you up to date on his progress. He is not going anywhere. And the team has plenty of reasons to remain invested in Bennett in 2024.

Stay tuned. And thanks for reading.