![](https://theramswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/64/2023/08/USATSI_21195753.jpg?w=1000&h=600&crop=1)
Neither Les Snead nor Sean McVay could say definitively whether Stetson Bennett will be with the team next season after he spent his entire rookie year on the non-football illness list for an undisclosed reason. He mostly remained out of the public eye during that time, except for a trip to Athens where he was on the sideline for a Georgia football game in November.
Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart knows Bennett well from their time together at Georgia and he provided an update on the Rams quarterback this week. He said Bennett is doing well and working out in Dallas with Patrick Mahomes’ trainer, which Bennett recently shared on social media.
Smart also said Bennett is hoping for an opportunity with the Rams, or to land with another team if it doesn’t work out in L.A.
“Stetson is doing well,” Smart said at the Macon Touchdown Club. “He went back to Dallas to train where he trained last year. He trained with Patrick Mahomes’ trainer and some different people there. So he wanted to go back to that same footprint where he was training previously. The Rams still have him there. They have gotten other quarterbacks, but he’s hopeful that he gets an opportunity there or he’ll get picked up by somebody else.”
Smart indicated that Bennett spent last season in Athens at Georgia’s facility before heading to Dallas to train with other incoming rookies.
“He’s been in our place during the season and he went out to Dallas to train with the other rising draft picks, so he trained with a group that was one year below him,” Smart said.
The Rams have proceeded as if Bennett won’t be available next season, recently signing Jimmy Garoppolo to a one-year deal worth up to $12 million with incentives. Even if Bennett returns in 2024, he’ll likely be the No. 3 quarterback behind Matthew Stafford and Garoppolo, but it’d be encouraging just to see him on the practice field and in meeting rooms.