Stetson Bennett, Ty Simpson split Rams' practice reps vs Saints for simple reason

Los Angeles Rams fans are still waiting to find out who will start this week's preseason game against the Saints, after Stetson Bennett got the nod in Game 1 over rookie Ty Simpson. 

Bennett, LA's projected QB2 this season, looked 'just okay' in his two series, going 4-of-6 passing for 38 yards. Simpson stole the show in the fourth quarter, albeit against third- and fourth-stringers in Kansas City's defense. 

Predictably, their juxtaposed performances reignited debate among fans - is Simpson back in the conversation for the backup role? That argument seemingly got more fuel with Bennett and Simpson splitting second-team reps in Thursday's joint practice despite the former's clear priority throughout camp.

Head coach Sean McVay didn't rule out a continued competition explicitly, but he had a much simpler answer: 

"It was really exclusively just because there was so many less reps, you know. So, we had 25 reps. Setson took 13 of them. Ty took 12 of them. Dave [Ragone] and I and the rest of the coaching staff will sit down and figure out how we want to approach the game once we're able to look at the film. But it was really more of a reflection of just less reps. … You don't take for granted, Stetson's never played a live NFL game. He's played a lot in the preseason and so I think you want to just get a consistent body of work for him to be able to run our offense."

Both Rams backups need as much work as they can get

McVay's response makes a lot of sense. The practice was shortened because the Saints came in a bit worn out after their hard-hitting session against the Cowboys on Tuesday. The Rams wanted to ensure both young quarterbacks got meaningful reps.

More significantly, McVay is spot on about Bennett's lack of experience. Particularly if the Rams are looking for him to play a real role this season, after Bennett spent the past two seasons as an emergency QB3, he'll need to enter the season raring to go as Matthew Stafford's backup.

And to be frank, Simpson outplayed him last Saturday, even accounting for the difference in facing a first or second-team defense and facing second-, third-, and fourth-teamers. That's not to say Bennett is about to lose his spot ahead of Simpson on the depth chart. It just indicates that, yeah, he could probably use some more reps before season's start.

"It's really more just continuing to evaluate him and getting him a chance as a young player. We haven't really gone into too much depth … looking at last week, Ty did a great job. Stetson did what he could. I think it's important to get a fair opportunity for those guys to run the offense with enough snaps, but more than anything, it's just playing real live football for a guy that hasn't played a lot of it, other than preseason games."

It's worth noting, of course, that there is enough between the lines in McVay's remarks to suggest that Bennett hasn't actually locked up the QB2 job yet, as seemed to be the case exiting camp. That the Rams are "continuing to evaluate him" implies as much. 

But by the same token, McVay emphasized that splitting reps on Thursday was about giving both Bennett and Simpson the chance for meaningful work in one of the few remaining opportunities - two preseason games but no more joint practices - ahead of Week 1. Making sure that Bennett "is able to run the offense" would indicate that the Rams still consider him the next man up behind Stafford.

Given Simpson's even greater lack of experience, Bennett doing enough to be QB2 still feels like the ideal scenario in unideal circumstances - at least to begin the year. By all appearances McVay and the Rams remain committed to that plan, even if Simpson's standout performance last Saturday has kept it from being a done deal just yet.

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