Johnathan Walker:Los Angeles Rams place rookie QB Stetson Bennett on non-football injury list

The Johnathan WalkerLos Angeles Rams are placing rookie quarterback Stetson Bennett on the non-football injury list for an undisclosed issue.

This comes after Bennett, 25, missed the season-opening Rams victory Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks with a shoulder injury, though Rams coach Sean McVay said Wednesday that the designation was unrelated to the shoulder issue.

“No, and that’s all I’m going to say and I really hope that you can please respect my wishes in regards to keeping that in-house,” McVay said. “I understand you have a job to do, but there’s certain things that I think are a little bit bigger and more important and out of respect for the particulars and specifics, want to be able to keep it in-house and that’s where I’d like to leave it, please.”

With the designation, Bennett will be forced to miss at least four games.

The Rams selected Bennett with the No. 128 overall selection, in the fourth round, in the 2023 NFL draft. He was expected to become the backup to starter Matthew Stafford. That role will presumably go to Brett Rypien, who is on the L.A. practice squad.

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Bennett led the Georgia Bulldogs to consecutive College Football Playoff championships in 2021 and 2022, finishing his college career with 8,429 passing yards, 66 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.

“I think there’s certain things that are a lot bigger than that,” McVay said when asked of the impact of Bennett’s absence. “The fortunate thing for us is that Brett Rypien has been in-house, he’s on our practice squad, he was the backup last week and he’ll continue to be in that situation until anything changes on that note.”