Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay spoke about the backup quarterback battle, stating he is still undecided about who will be behind Matthew Stafford.
"I don't want to pigeonhole myself into any decision," Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay said regarding who is set to win the backup quarterback position.
McVay may not have decided who will be the direct backup to Matthew Stafford following the Rams' third preseason game, but he needs to make a decision. The good news is he has two solid options to choose from, but the bad news is that he must make that call.
McVay is known for not playing his starters, which made the decision not to play Stetson Bennett IV in the third and final preseason game seem like the veteran is set for the QB2 position. However, that is not the case, and Bennett is also not a starter.
The issue is that rookie quarterback Ty Simpson has played some solid football through all three preseason games.
In the first outing. Simpson took over at quarterback following the end of the first quarter. He showed his abilities to read the defense while making snap judgments and had strong ball placement.
Simpson ended his first NFL game with 190 yards and two touchdowns on 21-for-25 attempts.
Bennett, on the other hand, went 4-for-6 for 38 yards. It was far too small a sample size for McVay to properly judge.
That may have been why Bennett was featured far more in the second preseason game, where he took control.
Bennett looked equally poised and secured two rushing touchdowns, using his ability to take advantage of open space to run the ball in. He finished the second preseason outing with 19-for-31 attempts, 181 yards, and nine rushing yards with two touchdowns.
Simpson came in in the second half and still managed to play good football, ending his night with 73 yards on 8-for-12 attempts.
This third and final preseason game is where Simpson looked to be even more comfortable. If the pocket collapsed, he used his keen escapability to run for the first down. Additionally, he once again protected the football, which is vastly important for any quarterback, especially a rookie.
Simpson secured 119 yards and one touchdown on 18-for-23 attempts.
"I thought the quarterbacks I thought Ty played really well tonight. Um, going into it, you know, that I wouldn't look too far into what that was. It was just continuing to get him experience. We've got three quarterbacks on our roster. Obviously, we've got the reigning MVP of the league. And then we got two guys that we feel really good about," McVay said.
McVay made it a point to state that the reps given to Simpson, and lack thereof for Bennett is not anything to look deeply into it. It merely means that he wanted to get the rookie back on the field for some more experience.
The silver lining to the Rams current conundrum is that as McVay put it, there are two quarterbacks to feel good about.
Both Bennett and Simpson played very well through OTAs and training camp, and showcased their growth out on the field during preseason action.
Should anything happen to Stafford, and whoever the backup is, that third string option should be plenty capable to come in and lead the Rams offense, which is a good problem to have.
With the trip to Australia happening very soon, the decision on who QB2 is will need to happen very soon.
