The LA Rams play their first preseason game of the year on Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs. All offseason Stetson Bennett and 2026 first round NFL Draft pick Ty Simpson have been battling to be the Rams backup quarterback this season, and on Thursday the latest development occurred when the Rams announced Bennett will start their first preseason game over Simpson.
Stetson Bennett will start at QB during the Rams’ preseason opener on Saturday. Rookie QB Ty Simpson will also play.
— Sarah Barshop (@sarahbarshop) August 13, 2026
Both quarterbacks will play during the game, but Bennett getting the nod shows that he is the current leader to be the Rams' backup this season.
LA Rams right their wrong by giving Stetson Bennett a golden opportunity to prove himself
A few days ago Rams head coach Sean McVay announced that Bennett might not play during the preseason at all. The Rams tend to do this with their established quarterbacks every year, so this wasn't a huge cause for concern when it comes to Bennett's position on their depth chart. At this point in Bennett's career though he needed every opportunity to prove himself, and the Rams are thankfully giving him that chance.
The last thing Bennett needed was for Simpson to shine in the preseason while he watched from the bench. There's a scenario where Simpson played well enough to pass Bennett on the depth chart without him getting a fair chance to win the job himself.
That however won't occur this year. Bennett will start on Saturday against Kansas City which shows he is above Simpson on the depth chart right now. This also will give Bennett an opportunity to cement himself even further that he is the better option at quarterback over Simpson. The best thing of all though is that playing during the preseason will help Bennett save his career beyond this year.
LA Rams gave Stetson Bennett a chance to save his career
Bennett is in the last year of his contract with the Rams. Regardless of what happens this season the general consensus among NFL analysts is that the Rams will let him walk after this year and ride with Simpson as their backup until Matthew Stafford retires. In order for Bennett to have the best chance of signing a new contract next offseason he needed to play in the preseason to get as much tape as possible to show other teams why they should sign him, and the Rams just granted him that chance.
The Rams wouldn't have drafted Simpson in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft if they didn't want him to be their future quarterback. If they believed in Bennett they would've never done that, so the Rams more than likely will choose Simpson after this year regardless of how the season plays out.
Bennett likely won't get many meaningful snaps during the regular season with Stafford still being the No. 1 quarterback on their depth chart. Stafford however won't play at all during the preseason, so these next few games is Bennett's best chance to show every NFL organization why they should take a chance on him next year.
Georgia fans believe that Bennett only needs one opportunity to prove he can be a legit NFL starter. He won't get that chance during the regular season with the Rams, but he was granted the next best thing by being the starter for the Rams first preseason game. Georgia fans believe in Bennett, and if he plays well enough this preseason maybe one NFL team out there will start believing in him too.
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