Jimmy Garoppolo shouldn’t be starting this weekend

Should the Rams be playing Stetson Bennett on Sunday against the Seahawks?

The Los Angeles Rams head into Week 18 against the Seattle Seahawks with the chance to rest their starters. That’s exactly what they’ll be doing as Jimmy Garoppolo is set to get the start at quarterback in place of Matthew Stafford. In addition, the Rams are set to rest Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, Kyren Williams, Alaric Jackson, Rob Havenstein, and Kevin Dotson.

It makes sense that the Rams would start Jimmy Garoppolo. Similarly to when McVay opted to start Carson Wentz last year, Garoppolo will still give the Rams a chance to win as they prep for the postseason.

With that being the case, this is still a good opportunity to learn about some of the Rams’ young talent. In last year’s game against the 49ers, the Rams got a good look at Davis Allen and Tutu Atwell also got involved. Mike LaFleur got an opportunity as a play-caller as well. Sunday will give similar opportunities to Blake Corum, Jordan Whittington, and others.

Still, by resting, the Rams have essentially said without saying that they are more focused on the playoffs. That doesn’t mean they should be trying to lose this game, but this does give them an opportunity to get a closer look at some of their younger players and give them some live-game reps. One player that they should be trying to get a closer look at is quarterback Stetson Bennett.

An argument can be made that the Rams should be resting both Stafford and Garoppolo this week in prep for the postseason. In the case that Stafford does get hurt in the playoffs, Garoppolo is at least a player that has led a team through the postseason in his career. If Garoppolo hurts his shoulder or back that caused him issues last year and Stafford goes down later, it puts the Rams in a very difficult spot at quarterback when it matters most. That risk is heightened as they are set to rest 60 percent of the starting offensive line.

To add to that though, this would be a great chance for the Rams to find out what they have in Bennett. The Rams drafted Bennett in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Bennett missed all of last year after being away from the team and then was very inconsistent this year in the preseason. With Garoppolo on a one-year deal and Bennett going into year three next year, the Rams really need to know what they have in him. Is Bennett a player that can be a backup and manage a game or do they need to look in another direction?

The quarterback position is unlike wide receiver where two or three are on the field and rotating throughout the game. Players like Brennan Jackson and Emmanuel Forbes could get snaps because they are at cornerback and edge rusher. That’s not the case at quarterback. If the Rams play Garoppolo, it is unlikely that the Rams play Bennett. It’s possible they could play each quarterback for a half and treat it like a preseason game. However, nothing that the Rams have said has indicated that will be the case.

Bennett will be going into year three next year and the Rams still don’t know what they have in a player that they thought could be a long-term backup quarterback. Sunday’s game would be a chance to give Bennett live-game reps in the regular season with some starting caliber players. It would answer some questions on whether or not Bennett has the upside to be a backup in the NFL.

Sunday’s game will be a good opportunity to get a look at players who wouldn’t see the field otherwise. While quarterback Stetson Bennett likely won’t be one of those players, he should be as the Rams look to evaluate the future of quarterback position behind Stafford this offseason.