10 Rams Entering Their Final Season With Los Angeles
By Jovan Alford
The Los Angeles Rams will kick off Week 1 of the 2024 season against the Detroit Lions in a rematch of last season’s playoff matchup. The Rams are looking to build on their surprising success last year, which saw them win 10 games and grab a wildcard spot.
To no surprise, the Rams are running it back with the same roster they had last season, sans standout linebacker Ernest Jones, who they traded to the Tennessee Titans. Nonetheless, LA enters this season with multiple players entering their last year with the club.
Some players have been with the Rams for a few seasons, while others are recent free agents, who signed one or two-year deals. With that in mind, Rams head coach Sean McVay will try his best to lead this team to another winning season and make a deep playoff run.
Below, we’ll highlight several players on the Rams’ 53-man roster and discuss their outlook heading into a pivotal 2024 season.
1. Jimmy Garoppolo
The 33-year-old quarterback will serve as Matthew Stafford’s backup this season after signing a one-year, $3.1 million deal in the offseason. Garoppolo had a terrible lone season with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Garoppolo completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 1,205 yards, seven touchdowns, and nine interceptions in seven games. The veteran quarterback was ultimately benched after a terrible Week 8 performance against the Detroit Lions and replaced by then-rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell.
After the 2023 season wrapped up, Garoppolo was issued a two-game suspension for the 2024 season for violating the NFL’s PED policy in February. The Raiders released him in March with a post-June 1 designation and now he’ll try to get himself together in Los Angeles.
With Garoppolo missing the first two games of the regular season, second-year quarterback Stetson Bennett will be the Rams’ backup quarterback.
The Rams have become the backup quarterback fixer team over the last two seasons as Baker Mayfield and Carson Wentz have found new opportunities after their short stints in Los Angeles.
Mayfield inked a nice multi-year extension this offseason with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a great 2023 season. Meanwhile, Wentz landed another backup quarterback gig, but this time with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Garoppolo will hope for the same thing to happen to him. But if everything goes well for LA this season, we likely won’t see him until Weeks 17 or 18, when the Rams have locked up their spot in the NFC playoffs.