Rams coach Sean McVay said Monday that he's yet to make a decision about whether Bennett or rookie Ty Simpson will open the regular season as the backup quarterback behind Matthew Stafford, Benjamin Royer of The Orange County Register reports.
Bennett made a strong case for the role with his performance in Saturday's preseason matchup against the Saints, when he completed 19 of 31 passes for 181 yards and logged two rushing touchdowns. Simpson saw less action and had a more modest performance, connecting on eight of 12 pass attempts for 73 yards while rushing three times for 10 yards, but it appears both QBs are still in contention to serve as the top regular-season backup behind Stafford. McVay noted Monday that he's "truly taking things a day at a time" and mentioned that Bennett book nine second-team reps during practice to Simpson's six. The head coach also said that Simpson will "definitely" play in the team's preseason finale Thursday versus the Chargers while indicating that it hasn't yet been decided if Bennett will suit up, which may suggest that the latter has the edge in the competition for the QB2 job despite the lack of a firm decision to this point.