3 NFL quarterbacks who should be benched after Week 9
The quarterback play in the early slate of Week 9 has been... let's call it, uninspiring.
In the NFL, every week counts. You only get 17 games to build your postseason case. With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, rosters around the league are mostly set. That doesn't preclude a number of teams from legitimate QB controversy.
There are the usual suspects, of course. Mac Jones and the New England Patriots lost again. The Minnesota Vikings have a potential QB conundrum after Joshua Dobbs' uneven performance in place of the concussed Jaren Hall.
But, we will look elsewhere for QBs worthy of the pine. Here are the Week 9 NFL quarterbacks who run the highest risk of losing their job.
3. Brett Rypien, Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams entered Week 9 in desperate need of a win. Low expectations or not, 3-6 is not the ideal position for a veteran roster with an accomplished head coach who just recently considered retirement.
Matthew Stafford was sidelined for Week 9 with a finger injury, which led to fourth-year backup Brett Rypien getting the nod. The result was a rather pitiful 20-3 loss to the wayward Green Bay Packers, with Rypien completing 13-of-28 passes for 130 yards. He didn't throw a touchdown, but he did manage an interception. All around, there just wasn't much to get excited about.
The Rams were supposed to have a backup QB of the future in Stetson Bennett, a fourth-round pick who flashed intriguing upside in the preseason. The two-time college champ entered the NFL with a résumé that is bursting at the seams, but Bennett has spent his entire season away from the team for an undisclosed personal reason.
It's impossible for fault Bennett or the Rams for what, as far as we know, is an unavoidable and unforeseeable detainment. That said, the Rams clearly can't trust Rypien. Has has twice as many interceptions (six) as touchdowns (three) for his career. Los Angeles isn't going to win many games with him under center.
Dresser Winn, the undrafted rookie out of Tennessee-Martin, was recently elevated from the practice squad. If Stafford can't go in Week 10, maybe the Rams get wild.