Rams place Stetson Bennett on reserve/NFI list

The Los Angeles Rams made a surprising move with backup quarterback Stetson Bennett on Wednesday evening, placing him on the reserve/non-football injury list, according to the Rams Twitter page. The move was not related to the shoulder issue that was listed on the injury report last week, Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay said. He would not disclose further details on the matter.

The Rams signed Bennett to a four-year rookie contract, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

Bennett won back-to-back national titles with the Bulldogs and was a Heisman finalist last season. The Rams selected him in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

However, he’s currently one of the backups behind starter Matthew Stafford. In the preseason, he was battling Brett Rypien for the second-string position.

In his last two seasons with Georgia, Bennett led the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championship wins and a 29-1 record. In that time span, he threw for 6,990 yards and 56 touchdown passes along with 464 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.

Along with two national championship rings, Bennett brings a fair share of hardware with him to Los Angeles. Bennett was one of four finalists for the Heisman Trophy this year, was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, and a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award. He also took home the 2022 Burlsworth Trophy, awarded annually to the country’s outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on.

In back-to-back seasons Bennett took home the Offensive MVP award of the College Football Playoff semifinal and national championship games, but can he bring similar success to the Los Angeles Rams?

Stafford just won a Super Bowl two years ago with Los Angeles and looks like a mentor to Bennett for down the line.

“When I watched this young man play, the movement in the pocket, the field vision, the decision making, the accuracy, he can layer the second level throws, he can put heat on it when he needs to, he can throw the deep ball with touch, he’s accurate in the in the red zone he can get outside the pocket, he’s got underrated run skills,” ESPN’s Louis Riddick said in May.

“And he goes into an offense that is an 11 personnel, 12 personnel, throw the football in the middle field emphasizes play action-type of offense, that’s exactly what he did down there in Georgia. “And the Rams only had one quarterback on the contract, that being Matthew Stafford. I love the pick. I think he was in a perfect place.”

On3’s Nick Kosko also contributed to this article.