Rams' unsurprising QB2 approach will still take some getting used to

Head coach Sean McVay still won't name his QB2 for Week 1. He only has two options: Stetson Bennett, a fourth-year veteran, or Ty Simpson, the Los Angeles Rams' rookie first-rounder. How hard can it be?

Jokes aside, it doesn't really matter. The offense will live or die on Matthew Stafford's shoulders, even as the Rams have surrounded him with playmakers. Neither Bennett nor Simpson will save the season if No. 9 goes down. 

That said, an uncertain quarterback hierarchy is unfamiliar territory after two years of Jimmy Garoppolo holding down the backup role unchallenged. Never mind the team's published depth chart. McVay suggested that who suits up as QB2 on gameday, and who is listed as the inactive emergency QB3, could change week-to-week:

I'll tell you when I decide who's going to be the actual two in the game," McVay said Friday of his Week 1 approach. " … I look at it like both of those guys are going to play. You saw we listed Stetson as the two, Ty as the three, but I look at it as a 2A, 2B. … Somebody's got to be the backup on game day. Somebody's got to be the emergency third. We'll see which direction. I've talked to those guys about it and I don't want to necessarily say that whatever we do in Week 1 is how it stays throughout the year."

McVay's approach isn't surprising, but it's not what Rams fans are used to

Is that really a surprise? After Simpson resparked what seemed like a closed competition with a standout preseason, penciling in Bennett as the backup no longer seemed safe, not when McVay remained firm in his indecision. So late in the summer, his stance was telling. 

So, no, it won't be surprising if Bennett runs onto the field in Week 1 when Stafford loses his helmet on a play, or late in a lopsided affair, and then it's Simpson a week later. 

Rather than establish a pecking order, McVay emphasized continuing to develop both quarterbacks. That's definitely not how the Rams rolled with Jimmy G. on the sidelines. Even John Wolford had the QB2 job to himself on the 2021 Super Bowl roster. 

McVay acknowledged as much, pointing out how different things are without an experienced backup. The Rams are incentivized to cultivate Simpson as much as possible, as Stafford's heir apparent. Bennett is a pending free agent and may be entering his last season with the team. 

As long as he hasn't created meaningful separation from Simpson, it makes too much sense to give the No. 13 pick his fair share of second-team reps in practice and garbage time.

It's not surprising, per se, that McVay is open to flip-flopping backups throughout the season. It's just different, very different, than the Rams' approach in seasons past. Part of the reason is that, before, there wasn't a future franchise quarterback to groom behind the starter. 

All that to say that it could be worth scanning the gameday roster report to know who will come off the sidelines if Stafford takes a dreaded trip to the blue medical tent.

By NFL rule, the emergency quarterback can't enter the game unless both the starter and designated backup are unavailable. If the Rams do want Simpson eligible for garbage-time reps ahead of Bennett, he'll need the QB2 label before games.

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