Sean McVay praises Stetson Bennett’s ability to ‘make plays with his legs’

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford got a rest day during training camp this week, which allowed a backup like Stetson Bennett a chance to shine.

And Bennett, the former Georgia quarterback, impressed Rams coach Sean McVay.

“[H[e had some really good reps,” McVay told reporters. But the coach added that Bennett had “some things where we can be a little bit cleaner, but what you do see from Stetson is the athleticism.

“If we lose contain up front, he can break it and make plays with his legs. And I think that’s good for whether it’s our first group or our second group to understand. … “There’s going to be some guys like that on the schedule that we can’t get lulled to sleep. And just thinking they’re always going to be in that spot if we lose the integrity of our rush lanes.”

The Rams selected Bennett in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He went through training camp. But two weeks into the season, the team placed him on the reserve/non-football injury list. He never returned to action. When he arrived in LA, Bennett was coming off an intense two years in Georgia as he led the Bulldogs to consecutive national titles.

Bennett returned to the team for off-season workouts. In his first media availability, he didn’t say why he stepped away, specifically. But he conceded it had to do with his mental health. He dealt with the issues back home in Georgia.

Now, it’s all about competition. It’s not so much about passing Stafford on the depth chart. Rather, the Rams need a key backup for Stafford, who like Bennett, is a former Bulldog. Bennett is competing with Jimmy Garoppolo for the No. 2 job. It’s an important spot because Stafford, 36, has missed 10 games the past two seasons because of injuries.

McVay said Garoppolo also did well in training camp with the 1’s. Garoppolo is far more experienced than Stetson. He signed with the Raiders last year to be the team’s starter. But the Raiders benched him, then gave him his release.

“I thought Jimmy did a really good job,” McVay said. “He has great command. You can see he’s played a lot of football. He got through some progressions. I thought he made some really good decisions based on some different things that they had covered. [I] thought we got in and out of the huddle.”

McVay has talked up Bennett since he returned to the Rams. He said this about Bennett’s performance in OTAs and mini camp:

“There were some opportunities where Stetson came in – I was really pleased with his overall improvement, his command, like I mentioned, his attention in the meetings and then when he got his opportunities, whether it was in some 7-on-7 or even in some of the team periods, they’re taking steps in the right direction,” McVay said.