Stetson Bennett is making it impossible for Rams to ignore what comes next

In the NFL, I never trust players who love to tell you what they are going to do before they do it. Almost every rookie wide receiver drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft touted how they were going to surpass the insanely productive rookie season of Los Angeles Rams WR Puka Nacua. For the record, none did.

But the opposite intrigues me. When a competent rookie is selected, and you don't hear much from that player in terms of boastful goal-setting, I tune in. It's that smoldering confidence in young players that tends to be a harbinger of good things to come.

While naysayers and critics of Rams' third-year quarterback Stetson Bennett are armed with plenty of reasons to dispute his future, his story has not been written just yet. In fact, in many ways, fans have no idea what he may be capable of. But those who know the most are keeping a lid on his upside, his progress, and just how amazing he has performed at the 2025 Rams training camp so far.

The Rams front office and coaching staff love him.

Stetson Bennett has shown up in 2025 like a different person. As a rookie in 2023, he was a deer in the headlights. In 2024, he was all business, a young man fighting for his NFL career. But in 2025, he is in the best football shape of his life, is far more confident, and is having fun in camp. Now, push a pin in that for just a moment.

Rams have the firepower to make an irresistible offer for Micah Parsons

We were a bit taken aback when the news of Dallas Cowboys elite star edge rusher Micah Parsons demanded to be traded. And even as you read this, 31 NFL teams are internally assessing if they have enough to pry Parsons away from the Cowboys. Unfortunately, all but a handful of teams have the draft and roster capital to even consider making an offer for the 26-year-old.

Of that group, fewer still have the competitive position to make trading for Parsons make sense. Trading would skew a team's plans from a future focus to a present-day focus. And that shift of focus makes perfect sense to land one of the true game-changers right now.

But the Rams are fighting their own roster battles on multiple fronts as well. The team is trying to settle veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford's back pain in time to start Week 1 against the Houston Texans. But even if the Rams manage to do so, the team recognizes that Stafford's career has a limited shelf life.

The team is prepared to handle 2025 by having QB Jimmy Garoppolo and Stetson Bennett as backups. But what happens when Stafford hangs up his football cleats? Can the Rams pivot as easily to that strange new future as easily as the team handled Aaron Donald's retirement and Cooper Kupp's release?

The key to any future scenario without Stafford hinges on how well QB Stetson Bennett performs in the preseason.

Related: Hall of Fame Game just made Rams’ Stetson Bennett situation harder to ignore

LA emerged from the 2025 NFL Draft with a substantial arsenal of draft picks projected for the 2026 NFL Draft. Per Tankathon.com, the Rams have the fifth-highest value of picks in next year's draft, including two picks in Round 1. By any measure, that places the Rams at a tier of making a compelling offer to the Dallas Cowboys for Parsons.

But what about the successor for Stafford? What about successors for right tackle Rob Havenstein? What about the other positions that will need to be addressed in the near-term future?

Well, believe it or not, the Rams love Bennett for good reason. He is checking all of the boxes for what this team is seeking in a quarterback. In the 2024 preseason, despite competing with players who were on the bubble, Bennett put up two gutsy come-from-behind victories in both games he played. And he was still knocking the rust off from stepping away from football for a year.

Bennett elevates the performance of wide receivers and tight ends. He has solid chemistry with receivers Jordan Whittington and Xavier Smith, and with tight ends Davis Allen and Terrance Ferguson. He gives his teammates a fighting chance of making the team by throwing catchable balls their way.

Best of all, he's getting plenty of reps this year and starting to settle into the groove as a result. It's all becoming automatic to him.

If the Rams plan on making a competitive offer for Parsons, they have to feel very confident in the future of their quarterback room. So far, Bennett has given the team every reason to be very confident.

And as always, thank you for reading.

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