Turf Show Times
The Los Angeles Rams intended to draft Ty Simpson even before Jimmy Garoppolo decided to retire. LA was able to solve the quarterback position long-term and prepare for life after Matthew Stafford. They may still need a fix in the near term should Stafford miss time.
A viral report from organized team activities (OTA’s) suggests that neither Simpson nor Stetson Bennett are seizing their opportunity to win the backup job. I would go as far to say that Simpson shouldn’t even be in the running–at least early in the year–in order to avoid risking putting the rookie on the field too early.
The backup role is truly Bennett’s to lose.
And if he can’t adequately handle those duties, the Rams will need to bring in a veteran sooner rather than later. It’s necessary because having the right person in the right seat insulates the team from dropping a game or two in what should be a competitive NFC West race and protects Simpson from stepping on the field before he’s fully capable of doing so. The Rams cannot jeopardize the future to keep their head above water in 2026.
While the availability of quality players is often overstated at roster cutdown day, quarterback is one position where there is often enough talent to go around. We often see some musical chairs and salary cap management in the reserve signal callers ahead of the regular season.
Last year’s cutdown day examples included the following players, of which nearly all had more game experience than Bennett:
The truth is Stetson Bennett is completely expendable.
If the Rams are not satisfied with Bennett as the primary backup to Stafford, they will likely have options. Do you want to enter the season with a new quarterback that hasn’t learned your offense? Probably not, but in this case it is still better than risking injury or stunted development to Simpson.
There is no sunk cost keeping Bennett around. He’s a former fourth-round pick on the last year of his rookie deal. It’s unlikely he’d return in 2027 because Simpson should almost certainly be able to serve in a backup capacity. The Rams are really only trying to fill up to eight games to start the season.
Of course, we should be skeptical of the report from OTA’s. Practices in June carry minimal weight in terms of predicting future performance, and the report was derived from only three sessions that were open to media. We can wait until padded training camp practices in order to draw real conclusions about the development of both Simpson and Bennett.
Until then, just remember there is nothing forcing the Rams to keep Stetson Bennett as the backup. If he’s unreliable, there will be better options on the table ahead of the regular season.
