BY GREG BEACHAM
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams placed rookie quarterback Stetson Bennett on their non-football injury list Wednesday.
Rams coach Sean McVay wouldn’t give any details about the reason for the move with Bennett, who led Georgia to the past two national championships before Los Angeles drafted him in the fourth round.
“There are certain things that I think are a little bit bigger and more important, and out of respect for the particulars and the specifics, (I) want to be able to keep it in-house,” McVay said.
Bennett won the job as Matthew Stafford’s primary backup during the preseason as expected, but he missed the Rams’ season-opening victory at Seattle with what the team said was a right shoulder injury. Brett Rypien will move up from the practice squad to take the backup role again this week, McVay said.
Bennett must miss at least the Rams’ next four games on the NFI list.
“Got a lot of love for Stetson,” Stafford said. “Appreciate him as a teammate, and Brett (Rypien) and I will roll with it as we go on.”
McVay said Bennett’s move to the NFI list was not related to his shoulder injury. McVay also said he has met recently with Bennett.
Rypien signed with the Rams in May after playing in eight games with three starts over the previous three seasons for the Denver Broncos.
“The fortunate thing for us is that Brett Rypien has been in-house,” McVay said. “He’s on our practice squad. He was the backup last week, and he’s going to continue to be in that situation until anything changes on that note.”
Bennett was the first quarterback drafted by the Rams during McVay’s seven seasons in charge, and McVay spoke extensively about his desire to help Bennett to become an effective professional. Los Angeles hadn’t drafted a quarterback since choosing Jared Goff first overall in 2016.
Bennett, who will turn 26 next month, led the Bulldogs to back-to-back national titles culminating in a blowout victory over TCU at SoFi Stadium last January. He also won the Manning Award as the nation’s top collegiate quarterback.
John Wolford and Bryce Perkins were Stafford’s backups last season, but the Rams cut ties with both in the offseason. Baker Mayfield, who signed with Tampa Bay, played the Rams’ final five games of last season while Stafford was injured.
The Rams (1-0) host San Francisco on Sunday in their home opener.
