Stetson Bennett’s potential return to the Los Angeles Rams might not happen this year.
Head coach Sean McVay said the rookie quarterback isn’t likely to rejoin the team this season after being placed on the reserve/non-football injury list Sept. 13.
“He’s doing well,” McVay said Monday. “I would say there’s really no updates in regard to him returning back with us.
“I’m not ready to say that he won’t be back with us at all this year, but it’s probably less likely than it is likely he would be.”
Bennett, 26, missed the Rams’ season-opening win at Seattle on Sept. 10 due to a right shoulder injury.
McVay said at the time he preferred to keep specifics of Bennett’s placement on the NFI list “in-house.”
“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 Sept. 13, per The Associated Press.
A little more than a week later, McVay said he didn’t want to put a timetable on Bennett’s potential return.
“He’s doing really well, which I was really encouraged to be able to hear,” McVay said, according to The Athletic.
“Got a chance to hear his voice and he sounds really good, and that was really cool to hear.”
In addition to McVay, Rams starting quarterback Matthew Stafford also expressed support for Bennett.
“Got a lot of love for Stetson,” the veteran signal-caller said last month. “Appreciate him as a teammate, and [quarterback] Brett [Rypien] and I will roll with it as we go on.”
The Rams took a chance on Bennett — who two national titles at Georgia — by selecting him in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft with the 128th overall pick.
Adding another Bulldog as a backup to Stafford, who’s also a Georgia product, seemed like a solid fit.
However, Bennett hasn’t been available since Week 1 and the Rams’ backup quarterback situation is coming into play due to Stafford’s injury.
McVay said Stafford is day-to-day with a ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right thumb and the Rams “have to get some contingency plans in order.”
The 35-year-old quarterback did not return to Sunday’s loss to Dallas after leaving in the third quarter.
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Rypien, who went undrafted in 2019 out of Boise State, took over for Stafford after the franchise quarterback injured his thumb in the third quarter of the 43-20 defeat.
He went 5-for-10 for 42 yards.
“We’ve obviously got Brett Rypien on the roster, and there’s some other possibilities that we will explore and that we’re kind of in the midst of working through,” McVay said.
The Rams visit the Packers on Nov. 5.