One of the most curious selections of the 2023 NFL Draft was the Los Angeles Rams using a fourth-round pick on Stetson Bennett.
Even more curious, however, was the Georgia product’s rookie season, in which he wasn’t active for a single game and spent most of the campaign away from the Rams after being placed on the non-football injury list.
Speaking to News19 in Alabama, Rams general manager Les Snead provided the first real insight into Bennett’s unusual rookie season. In doing so, Snead pointed to all the former Bulldogs quarterback had endured in leading Georgia to back to back national championships prior to the start of his NFL career.
“I know this: Last year was very beneficial for him. I think he took advantage of that year away from the game,” Snead said, according to Rams Wire. “You know what, he’s an exhausted human being based on everything he had done to walk on, to go to JUCO, to come back, to turn down small schools, say ‘I’m going to try to do this Georgia thing.’ To win a job, then to win the thing, and then to determine, ‘I’m going to come back.’ And when you come back, it’s really win it again or you failed. And that does take a toll on a human being, so I was jacked for Stetson to be able to take that moment and breathe a little bit.”
Heading into his second season in the NFL, Bennett slots no higher than third on the Rams’ quarterback depth chart behind starter Matthew Stafford and free-agent signee Jimmy Garoppolo. The two-time national champion quarterback, however, will have the opportunity to be Stafford’s top backup for the first two games of the 2024 campaign with Garoppolo slated to serve a suspension to open the season.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.