The LA Rams first preseason game is in the books, and Stetson Bennett earned the right to be their starter. His NFL future however remains uncertain even though he played well in the first two series of the game thanks to a big day from rookie quarterback Ty Simpson.
The first two series was the only playing time Bennett received during this game, but the fact that he started over Simpson shows that he is the Rams current No. 2 on their depth chart. Simpson however had a great day throughout the rest of the game as he completed 21 of 25 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
Bennett's future plans were already unclear heading into this season. His contract with the Rams is up after this season, and after the Rams drafted Simpson in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft they may have already planted their stake in his favor. There's always a chance Bennett could play at a high level and prove he's a much better player than Simpson, but if he continues to play well in the preseason and in practice then Bennett's future in the NFL could go one of many ways.
Stetson Bennett has a chance to remain in LA after this season
Even if Ty Simpson eventually passes Bennett on the depth chart this year there is a chance he could remain in LA even after his contract expires after this season. The biggest reason why is because of how much Rams head coach Sean McVay believes in him.
Time and time again McVay has shared with the media how great he thinks Bennett is. Sure he isn't on the level of current starter Matthew Stafford, but the Rams have kept three quarterbacks on their roster the last few years for a reason.
Most NFL teams only carry two quarterbacks on their 53-man roster, but the Rams have kept Bennett on their roster as their third string QB the last few years. They likely did that knowing he could be part of their long term future, so to prepare him for that they did what most teams probably wouldn't do and gave him a roster spot.
The fact McVay named Bennett their starter for their preseasn game is significant too. If they knew there was no chance they were going to resign him next year then there wouldn't be many reasons to waste snaps on him. They instead should just hand every snap to Simpson in that scenario, but that isn't what they did.
Bennett likely is still the backup in LA for now, and that gives him a chance to be resigned again next offseason. There's also a chance the Rams let him walk too, and if that happens he will need to hope another team wants to take a chance on him.
Stetson Bennett needs more opportunities to play to prove himself to other NFL organizations
Most NFL experts believe the Rams won't resign Bennett next offseason. If that's the case then Bennett will have to find a new team, and based on how he's played in the preseason the last few years it feels like he'd have a good chance to be signed. Bennett however would really benefit from more playing time now.
NFL teams will look at his play from the past couple years when evaluating if they want to sign him next offseason or not. His play this season though would be more valuable than how he did the previous three years. Bennett thankfully played well on Saturday when he was in the game, but two series probably isn't enough tape to make any NFL team super excited about him.
It would be nice if the Rams let Bennett play as much as Simpson did in their next game in case they don't resign him next year. That however isn't likely to occur. The Rams love to rest their established players in the preseason, and that originally was their plan with Bennett before changing their mind at the last second and letting him play two series.
Bennett might not play at all the rest of the preseason. He also won't play many (if any) meaingful snaps during the regluar season unless Matthew Stafford gets injured. His lack of playing time and Simpson's emergence puts serious doubt around his future in the NFL. Unfortunately for Bennett almost everything is out of his control because only the Rams will decide how much he will play the rest of this season.
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