Rams backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will miss the first two weeks of the regular season, due to a suspension under the PED policy. That leaves Stetson Bennett as the primary backup for Week 1 at Detroit and Week 2 at Arizona.
Does coach Sean McVay feel confident Bennett can be the backup to Matthew Stafford for the first two games that count?
“Yeah, I think we still have to be able to see some more body of work,” McVay told reporters on Tuesday. “What I did like was what I mentioned to you . . . to be able to stay together. That’s a tough deal when you have the ball [and] when you turn it over a handful of times. It was [a tough situation]. He kind of mentioned it in the postgame [interviews] to you guys where he thought he was seeing some things and then the mistakes ended up being pretty costly but he just kept playing. He kept fighting. The guys kept believing around him. I was really impressed with the resilience that he demonstrated. We do need to take better care of the football. That’s a very important thing. All of those are very correctable and really in a lot of them, it’s not necessarily with the exception . . . well, a couple of them were bad decisions and then a couple of them were just missed the way that you want to throw . . . make the type of layered throw. but you’re going to the right spot. [These are] all things that we can learn from. He has to continue to improve and we’re still in evaluation mode.”
Bennett overcame fourth interceptions (and a fifth on the final drive that was wiped out by a defensive penalty) to throw a last-second touchdown pass for the win.
There are two more preseason games for Bennett to add to his initial preseason performance of the year. If McVay decides based on this Saturday against the Chargers and next Saturday against the Texans that Bennett can’t get it done, the only other in-house option is Dresser Winn.
In the end, McVay and G.M. Les Snead might have to look elsewhere for help — and to hope someone who knows the offense will be available to get in the fold and get up to speed before the opening Sunday night of the season, when the Rams and Lions have a rematch of last year’s playoff game.
Otherwise, they’ll have to hope Stafford can stay healthy until Garoppolo is reinstated for Week 3.