Stetson Bennett Back With Rams, GM Said QB Needed 'Break' From Football Last Year
One of the great mysteries of last year's NFL season was Los Angeles Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett. The team selected Bennett in the 4th round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
However, the team eventually placed him on the reserve/non-football illness list in September, and he did not dress for any games. The team was unsure if he would return this season, but we got an answer when he joined the team for offseason workouts.
Bennett is practicing with Los Angeles this week as the Rams began OTAs (organized team activities) on Monday. Rams general manager Les Snead shed some light on Bennett's absence last season during an interview with a news station in Alabama, News 19 WHNT-TV in Huntsville.
Los Angeles Rams QB Stetson Bennett is on the field for OTAs this week.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
"I know this: Last year was very beneficial for him. I think he took advantage of that year away from the game," Snead told the station. "You know what, he's an exhausted human being based on everything he had done.
"The responsibility of the QB, and in our sake, we saw what taking a break, giving some guys a break from the game to get refreshed -- I call it, to get bored and fall back in love with the game you grew up playing in the backyard."
It's interesting to hear Snead comment on Bennett's status given that the team was fairly tight-lipped last season.
Stetson Bennett's absence last season was a huge mystery that surrounded the Los Angeles Rams.
Head coach Sean McVay delivered a cryptic message about Bennett when the team placed him on the reserved list.
"Out of respect for him and the situation, I'm going to leave all the specifics and particulars in-house," McVay said in September. "And I want to be able to do that out of respect for that situation, so I'm not going to really have any follow-up information or anything that I'll give in that regard."
As OutKick's Trey Wallace reported at the time, reporters asked McVay what losing Bennett meant for the team. McVay responded, "I think there are certain things that are a lot bigger than that."
Los Angeles Rams GM Les Snead says quarterback Stetson Bennett, who is back with the team, needed some time away from football.
(Ric Tapia/Getty Images)
That led people to speculate about the quarterback's absence. He was arrested on Jan. 29, 2023, in Dallas for public intoxication. The police video of that arrest was not flattering for the former Georgia quarterback.
There was also the interview he did with "Good Morning America" the day after defeating Alabama for the National Championships. Some fans thought Bennett appeared to be intoxicated during that interview.
We don't know if Bennett's absence had anything to do with his past issues with intoxication, but we now have an idea that time away from football appeared to do him some good.
McVay said last month that Bennett was doing a good job during the offseason program and had "a good look in his eyes" and was "very attentive during meetings."
Hopefully, whatever caused Bennett to step away from football is behind him and the quarterback can focus on his NFL career.