Rams' QB Stetson Bennett's prepares to embark on Arrowhead quest

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif –– Every hero's journey begins with a call. A whisper. A question that haunts the mind in their quiet hours.

Can I do this?

For Stetson Bennett, the question has followed him from the small towns of Georgia to the bright lights of Los Angeles. From national champion to NFL backup. From the man who was supposed to be too small to the man who refuses to be forgotten.

The call comes again this weekend. Sean McVay looks at his quarterback room and has to wonder what sits behind his MVP signal-caller, Matthew Stafford, and has made a decision.

"Stetson will play," McVay said. "He will start."

Saturday. Arrowhead Stadium. 

The Kansas City Chiefs. 

The noise. The pressure. The proving ground.

"I'm looking forward to it," Bennett said. "It's always good to get out there and compete. I'm excited to see Arrowhead. That's a cool stadium."

Cool. That's one word for it. The same stadium where Patrick Mahomes has tormented defenses for years. The same stadium where careers are made and broken. The same stadium that will host a quarterback who has been waiting. 

Watching. Learning.

Waiting for his turn. Watching the best in the world. Learning from a future Hall of Famer.

Bennett's journey began long before he arrived in Los Angeles. Two national championships at Georgia. A Heisman finalist. A quarterback who was told he wasn't big enough, wasn't strong enough, wasn't good enough.

He proved them wrong. Then he did it again.

Now he's proving it a third time.

"It's definitely tough," Bennett said. "We get into this because we love football and we love to compete. It definitely was tough just watching out there and not really doing anything on Sundays. It has been a test of patience, a test of willpower."

Patience. That's the virtue that defined his journey. The willingness to wait. The ability to prepare. The refusal to quit.

"I did a lot more core workouts," Bennett said. "Studying playbook, keep going, throwing. Just trying to do the best that I can for me, for the organization. Taking a step forward every single day."

The Rams have Stafford, the quarterback who has done everything. The Super Bowl champion. The MVP. The man who has seen it all.

Bennett has learned from him. Has watched him. Has studied him.

"Just his steadiness," Bennett said. "He's not too high with the highs, not too low with the lows. Day in and day out he comes and does what he can do for the Rams organization."

Stafford sees something in Bennett. He sees a quarterback who prepares. Who works. Who cares.

"The best advice he gave me was just, man, go let it rip," Bennett said. "It's nothing that you haven't done before. Just playing out there with rules, understand your problems and just let it rip."

Let it rip. That's the Stafford way. The no-look passes. The gunslinger mentality. The confidence to throw into windows that don't exist.

Bennett has absorbed it. Has internalized it. Has made it his own.

The journey has been arduous. For a competitor, it's been daunting.

Backups don't get the reps. Backups don't get the headlines. Backups don't get the glory.

Bennett has been there. Has done that. Has watched from the sideline while others played.

"I definitely do feel more comfortable," Bennett said. "It's a lot more playing football. Last year it was more with the ones this year and felt more comfortable with the guys. It was fun to compete."

Fun. That's the word. Not pressure. Not stress. Fun.

The game is slowing down for him. The offense is becoming second nature. The connection with his receivers is building.

"I've seen a lot of a guy who loves to show up, loves football," Bennett said of rookie receiver CJ Daniels. "He shows up to work every single day and wants to go out there and cook whoever's on top of him. He's been great."

Daniels has been a revelation. The rookie receiver who catches everything. The man who runs great routes and blocks willingly and studies the offense like a veteran.

Bennett found him in practice. Hit him for a deep touchdown along the right sideline. 

Blown coverage. Perfect throw. Perfect catch.

The connection is real. The trust is building.

Every hero needs a weapon. Bennett's weapons are his arm and his mind—the ability to read defenses. 

The willingness to take risks. The confidence to make throws.

He connected with Mario Williams across the middle for a huge gain. He found Dean Connors in the flat for a short-yardage touchdown. He moved the offense with purpose and precision.

"I thought we started well," Bennett said. "Could have done better later in the practice. But it's always training camp. We don't go out there and game plan. There's things to learn. There was good things too."

Learning. That's the goal. Not perfection. Not dominance. Just improvement. 

Every day. Every rep. Every throw.

Dave Ragone has been Bennett's constant companion. The quarterbacks coach who takes him around the practice field. Who walks him through the script before and after; who does the little things that make a difference.

"It would have been tough to get through it without a coach that grabs me and takes me through the script," Bennett said. "The little things that you can do when you're not on the practice field to get better."

The offensive line has been steady—Coleman Shelton's leadership in the middle. Kevin Dotson and Steve Avila are having really good camps. Warren McClendon and Alaric Jackson are doing their jobs. David Quessenberry has filled in steadily when Jackson has been out.

"I love O-linemen," Bennett said. "They protect me. Our guys are out there working every day and they're crushing it right now."

And then there's Ty Simpson. The rookie from Alabama. The first-round pick who is learning the same way Bennett learned. Who stays after practice. Who asks questions. Who wants to be great.

"Ty's been great," Bennett said. "He's a willing learner. He wants to be good. He's going to be a really good player."

McVay sees it. He sees the growth. He sees the preparation. He sees the readiness.

"I want Stetson to be able to do what he's done," McVay said. "He's really just taking advantage of his reps. He's aggressive. He's a playmaker. He can make some things happen off schedule. The command has been significantly improved upon."

Significantly improved. That's not coach speak. That's the truth. Bennett has taken every opportunity and made it count.

"I feel like I'm going to be able to give my best out there for the guys," Bennett said. "That's going to go week to week. They're going to come up with a game plan. We're going to practice hard."

The game plan for Saturday is simple. Play within the offense. Make good decisions. Get in and out of the huddle. Communicate.

"Stetson's going to do what he's done," McVay said. "He's played really well through the offseason program and up until now. That's been a real positive for us."

Saturday night in Arrowhead. The noise. The lights. The moment.

Bennett has been waiting for this. Has been preparing for this. Has been dreaming of this.

"I'm just looking forward to going out and executing offense with the guys," Bennett said. "It's football. Just on a whole different level."

Different level. That's the NFL. The speed. The complexity. The stakes.

Bennett has faced bigger moments. Two national championships. The pressure of being the man at Georgia. The weight of expectations.

This is different. This is the NFL. This is the highest level. This is the dream.

But stories in the NFL are written in what you show and how much carries over. 

In practice. On film. In games.

"I just want to go out there and be the best that I can be," Bennett said. "If I'm not that, then that drive that irks me to no end kind of gets after me. If I am going out there and playing good ball, then that's enough for me. It's not really about the outward. It's who's the man in the mirror. How are we doing today? How are we going to do tomorrow?"

The man in the mirror. That's the test. That's the truth. That's the hero's journey.

Bennett is from Georgia. He played in the SEC. He won championships in the most hostile environments in college football.

But Arrowhead is different. Arrowhead is louder. Arrowhead is meaner. Arrowhead is the place where dreams go to die.

Bennett doesn't care.

"I'm excited as hell," Bennett said. "Just to get out there and compete. To show what I can do. To show that I belong."

He belongs. The Rams believe it. McVay believes it. The locker room believes it.

"He's earned the respect of his teammates," McVay said. "You can feel it. They want to root for him."

Root for him. That's the feeling. The camaraderie. The belief. The love.

Saturday. Arrowhead Stadium. The Kansas City Chiefs. The standard.

Bennett will walk onto that field and take the snap. He will drop back. He will read the defense. He will make throws.

He will be ready.

"Repetition is the mother of learning," Bennett said. "We're not there yet. We got to keep that in mind. But it's just doing what you think is the best thing that you should do at that moment and then just keep following that and hopefully getting better over time."

Better over time. That's the journey. That's the quest. That's the hero's path.

Bennett has walked it. Has earned it. Has lived it.

Saturday, the world will see it.

The call is placed, and Bennett will answer. His quest begins. The hero is ready.

Arrowhead awaits.