The Los Angeles Rams concluded their organized team activities, more commonly known as OTAs, last Thursday, and after a strong start to the offseason, Head Coach Sean McVay decided to cancel mandatory minicamp, which would’ve taken place this week.

McVay was very happy with how the team practiced during OTAs, but there was one player in particular that stuck out: backup quarterback Stetson Bennett.

“I’ve seen tremendous growth,” McVay said. “Obviously, with Matthew not being out here based on the plan and the schedule that we’ve kind of thought was going to be best for him for now and for the long term, Stetson’s gotten a lot more reps than he would’ve otherwise.”

“I think he’s done a really nice job,” McVay continued. “He’s earning the confidence of his teammates in terms of commanding the huddle. Then, he’s done a lot of good stuff in terms of reading with his feet. Dave Ragone does such a good job with those guys as a whole but both he and Ty have had good growth. Stetson especially, I think he’s had a really good last couple of weeks, and I’ve been proud of him.”

The Rams obviously have Matthew Stafford as their starter, but they also selected Ty Simpson in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to hopefully be the future of their franchise. It was a pick that sparked a lot of controversy, and now it’s looking like Simpson might not even be QB2 by the start of the season.

Stetson Bennett’s History

If you’re an NFL fan who doesn’t watch college football, you probably don’t really know who Stetson Bennett is. The former Georgia Bulldog led his team to back-to-back championship in 2021 and 2022, throwing for over 6,900 yards and 56 touchdowns with 14 interceptions during those two years.

At 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, Bennett was a bit undersized entering the NFL Draft, and didn’t offer a whole lot as an athlete, so he slid to the fourth round where he was selected 128th overall by the Rams in 2023. Since then, he’s served as a backup for the Rams, and after two disappointing preseasons to begin his career, Bennett took a huge step last year.

In the 2025 preseason, Bennett appeared in two games where he completed 44 of his 64 attempts for 512 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. He ranked first in yards and touchdowns, and third in completions during the preseason. Not bad for a guy who had thrown three touchdowns to eight interceptions in his preseason career prior to last year.

Bennett has yet to start a regular season game for the Rams, but if he can have another strong training camp and preseason, he may get that opportunity if Matthew Stafford goes down at any point this year.

But What About Ty Simpson?

When the Rams selected Ty Simpson 13th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, they received a lot of backlash. First, not many people believed Simpson was worthy of being a first round pick. Second, the Rams were a game away from playing in the Super Bowl last year, so why would they use a premium draft pick on a backup quarterback? They say it’s because they believe in the player, but it doesn’t hurt when the GM has a long-standing relationship with the player’s father.

Simpson has two big red flags heading into his first season in the NFL. One, he only ever started 15 games in college, and teams usually want to see 25-30 high quality starts before drafting a QB in round one. Two, he started the year well, but he really fell off down the stretch and was a big reason Alabama didn’t make it any further than the second round of the playoffs. The last thing he put on tape was a 67-yard, zero-touchdown game against Indiana in the CFP. That doesn’t typically get you drafted in the first 15 picks.

Early reports indicate that Simpson did well in OTAs, but will it be enough to fend off Bennett for the QB2 spot? It’s hard for a team to make their first round quarterback QB3 on the depth chart, but coaches have to do what’s best for the team, and regardless of what he said after the draft, Sean McVay did not seem too pleased with the Simpson pick. That was Les Snead’s pick, so I don’t think McVay is going to have any preconceived biases towards Simpson. He’s going to do what is right for the team.

The Rams’ QB2 job is going to be up for grabs throughout the offseason and into the preseason. It’s going to come down to who can perform better in training camp and in the preseason, but right now, all the hype seems to be around Bennett.