With Matthew Stafford now the second-oldest starting quarterback in the NFL, the Rams need to be thinking about the future. The future possibility could be Stetson Bennett.
The rookie from Georgia, who’ll turn 26 in October, handled seven drives on Saturday night, in the Rams’ preseason opener against the Chargers.
“I know it’s a preseason game, but it’s the first NFL game that you’re playing in,” Bennett told reporters You’re going to come in and be a little nervous, try to make a play when sometimes plays aren’t there, but then as [we] started a groove, we started calling plays and you start to settle in once you get hit first, honestly, it’s just like everything I’m taught, almost.”
His first drive (after Brett Rypien handled three of them) lasted 16 plays, covering 75 yards and ending in a touchdown, on an 11-yard throw to fellow rookie Puka Nacua.
For the night, Bennett completed 17 of 29 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown. He had no interceptions. He could have had two, but the defenders didn’t make the catch.
“I thought there were some boneheaded plays that I made,” Bennett said. “I thought there were some good plays that I made. I thought we bounced back a few times from some lost yardage plays. I thought we did pretty good on third downs, didn’t turn the ball over, even though I tried to a few times, so got to clean that up a little bit, but I thought it was all right. It’s hard to say without watching the tape.”
He doesn’t need to see the tape to know he nearly had a pair of picks. What does he think after those plays happen?
“I just don’t think about it,” Bennett said. “‘Thank you for not catching that,’ and we’re onto the next one now.”
He praised the offensive line for giving him time to look down the field.
“I remember especially on the touchdown pass, it was like it just all opened up and I could see Puka real good and thought I had time all night,” Bennett said. “Most of the time I got in trouble was on play fakes. They had wide D-ends and they’re coming up and not really respecting the run, which we gashed them a few times there, but overall, I thought we played really well up front.”
It’s encouraging for the Rams to begin developing a player who could eventually become the starter. Whether he does depends on many things, including whether he takes full advantage of opportunities to grow and improve in the preseason.
