ORLANDO, Fla. -- The plan is for the Los Angeles Rams to "onboard" quarterback Stetson Bennett for offseason workouts, general manager Les Snead said Monday.
Bennett, a 2023 fourth-round draft pick out of Georgia, spent his rookie season on the reserve/non-football illness list for undisclosed reasons. Snead, speaking at the NFL league meetings, was asked whether the Rams have a commitment from Bennett to return for the offseason workouts.
"At this point, yes," Snead said.
The Rams drafted Bennett with a plan to have him back up quarterback Matthew Stafford. Instead, Los Angeles spent the first half of the season with Brett Rypien as the No. 2 quarterback. Rypien started one game for an injured Stafford in Week 9 but was cut the following week after the Rams scored just three points in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.
The Rams replaced Rypien with veteran quarterback Carson Wentz, who won the regular-season finale for Los Angeles even as coach Sean McVay rested several of his starters against the San Francisco 49ers.
At the start of free agency this year, the Rams signed former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to be their main backup. Snead said the Rams were "fans of" Wentz, but at the end of the day, Garoppolo's familiarity with the team's offense and style of play made him a good fit for 2024.
"Very similar offenses, and we've seen him play at a high level in that offense," Snead said. "And as I mentioned earlier, one of the visions this year with the backup QB was, if we had to get to that player, it would be nice to know that OK, not hope that this player can win, but know that this player has won games before."