McVay leaves backup QB path open for Stetson Bennett or rookie Ty Simpson in Rams’ Australia opener

The Los Angeles Rams will begin the season with a public decision still not fully decided. In the lead-up to the team’s Week 1 game in Australia, head coach Sean McVay indicated that the Rams’ backup quarterback role will be awarded to either Stetson Bennett or rookie Ty Simpson, and he framed the competition as something that will stay alive until the season opener.

McVay’s comments, delivered during a Tuesday appearance, matter because the Rams’ depth chart at quarterback has to cover more than just game-week readiness. The backup quarterback in the modern NFL is expected to manage practice reps, help install the right package depending on the starter’s workload, and be prepared to enter with a coherent plan if the starter needs to come out. With the opener in Australia serving as a high-visibility stage, the Rams appear to be prioritizing whoever can best handle the role on the first-week timeline.

The Rams have not closed the door on Bennett while the team evaluates Simpson. That framing is significant because it suggests the coaching staff is still weighing how Bennett’s skill set fits the backup responsibilities the team wants, not just whether he can function in a single, low-volume practice window. At the same time, McVay made it clear he is willing to let a younger quarterback earn the job, and he used language that points to a definitive outcome being reached by the time the Rams play the San Francisco 49ers.

In McVay’s description of the decision, he essentially offered a two-name competition rather than a rotating cast. The question for the staff, and for the team’s followers, becomes how the two players differentiate themselves in the categories that coaches typically emphasize when selecting a backup quarterback. That includes command of the system, decision-making under pressure, rhythm with the first-unit and second-unit starters, and the ability to protect the ball in any situation where the starter is not available.

The opponent also shapes the evaluation. The Rams will face the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1, a matchup that tends to demand efficient execution and early game clarity, regardless of whether a quarterback is starting or entering as the backup. If a backup quarterback is needed, a Week 1 against a quality opponent can turn a depth-chart job into a defining moment for whoever receives it.

For Bennett, the storyline is continuity and experience. For Simpson, it is opportunity and readiness. McVay’s stance, however, indicates that the Rams view the competition as performance-based rather than locked by tenure, even if the organization has carried Bennett’s name in the conversation as a viable option.

Going forward, what to watch is not only who is listed behind the starter, but how each quarterback is used in practice emphasis and game-week preparation. The Rams’ Week 1 in Australia will effectively compress the normal evaluation timeline into a first-game test with a strong national audience, and it will clarify whether McVay’s “either-or” message results in a Bennett role by default or a Simpson-earned leap.

The larger takeaway for Los Angeles is that the quarterback depth chart will not be treated as a settled detail. McVay’s explicit framing suggests that the Rams want flexibility, but they are also prepared to make a clear choice once the coaching staff believes one player has demonstrated the ability to own the backup role immediately. The next key checkpoint is the Week 1 game-plan decision against the 49ers.