As the Rams take on the Saints in their second preseason game, all eyes are on the same storyline as last week: It’s all about the quarterbacks.
No. 13 overall pick Ty Simpson will get plenty of action again, and we should see some of Stetson Bennett as well.
The two are battling for the backup role behind Matthew Stafford this season, and we’ve seen a shift in the past week to more even reps in practice after Bennett had been in the lead for all of training camp before that. That shift has coincided with the changes in their performance, as Simpson has become much more comfortable with the play calls and with much of his decision making, and Bennett has not had the same rhythm, confidence or deep ball accuracy as he showed in earlier weeks of camp.
In last week’s preseason opener against the Chiefs, Bennett was 4 of 6 for 38 yards, no touchdowns and no turnovers. Simpson, meanwhile, was 21-of-25 for 190 yards, two touchdown passes and zero turnovers. Last week’s game was Simpson’s first real statement of training camp or the preseason. He’s had several strong practices lately but did struggle in Thursday’s joint session with the Saints, when he threw two interceptions.
Rams coach Sean McVay traditionally does not play players in preseason games whose spots on the two-deep of the depth chart are secure, so how he manages the reps between these two in this game will be something to monitor.
