Rams backup QB battle proves theres more at stake against Saints
There will be no Matthew Stafford throwing deep touchdown passes.No Myles Garrett hunting quarterbacks.
No Puka Nacua slicing through the secondary.If Rams coach Sean McVay follows his usual preseason blueprint, then expect very few players who will regularly play on Sundays this season to be anywhere near harm’s way when the team takes the field on Saturday afternoon at SoFi Stadium.That doesn’t mean there’s nothing at stake, though.For a Rams roster built to contend for a Super Bowl, the preseason game against the Saints is less dress rehearsal than it is a job interview.
The starters are largely set in stone.The superstars are protected.
What remains is a collection of players fighting over the final chairs before music stops and the Rams trim their roster to 53 players on Aug.30.And no competition carries more weight than the one occurring directly behind the reigning NFL MVP.For the past two seasons, McVay did not have to spend any time wondering who would take over if Stafford went down.
Veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo provided that security, and had plenty of experience including multiple Super Bowl appearances, when it came to playing meaningful football.“It was very established of who the backup quarterback would be,” McVay said earlier this month of the past two seasons with Stafford and Garoppolo.But nothing is established anymore.Bennett entered training camp with a substantial advantage in second-team repetitions, but first-round pick Simpson blew open the competition last Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in the Rams’ 20-12 victory over the Chiefs in their first preseason game.Simpson completed 21 of 25 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns, delivering one of the more polished rookie quarterback performances of the opening preseason weekend.He was accurate, composed and, perhaps most importantly for McVay, avoided the catastrophic mistakes that can turn an NFL game sideways.Now the reps are beginning to tell a different story.During ...