Rams' Stetson Bennett IV May Have Locked Up QB2 Battle

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All eyes have been on the backup quarterback battle for the Los Angeles Rams. Multi-year veteran Stetson Bennett IV and rookie Ty Simpson have duked it out in preseason to determine which of them would be backing up Matthew Stafford in 2026.

Bennett has been the favorite to land the QB2 job since OTAs, but Simpson has played very well in his own right. That has been especially true through preseason, but the third and final preseason game has seemingly revealed who has won the backup job.

Rams head coach Sean McVay has always operated in a way that he does not like to play his starter or more established players in the preseason. While Bennett is clearly not a starter, he is not playing in the final game.

Instead, Simpson will get the start against the Los Angeles Chargers, and Matthew Caldwell will get some time in after that. 

This does not guarantee that Simpson has won the job, but it points to that being the case. 

McVay has been praising Bennett for months. The Rams head coach has done the same with Simpson, but his tone and comments have been more about the rookie doing a "good job" and protecting the football.

Simpson not winning the backup job is not hugely surprising, as he is still a rookie. Bennett is heading into his fourth season with the Rams and has been working with McVay for that long as well. 

The good news is that Simpson will now be able to learn from both Stafford and Bennett so that he can prepare to take over down the line. 

The other silver lining of Simpson potentially losing the backup job is that the Rams also have a solid trio of passers. Should something befall both Stafford and Bennett, McVay would likely be plenty confident that the rookie would also be able to take over in a pinch.

Stafford is clearly the starter and will be so until he chooses to walk away from the game of football, or unless the Rams choose to move on from the veteran. That may not be the case at all, considering he won the MVP in 2025.

Stafford is also 38 years old and has had his share of injuries, including a back issue that kept him out for the entirety of training camp in 2025. That is not to say that he will suffer anything that would knock him out of action, but the Rams need some bigger insurance.

That insurance does appear to be Bennett, followed by Simpson. 

McVay has not formally announced that Bennett is QB2, but it will not be a surprise if that is the case come Week 1. 

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