Speaking for the first time since he was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list last September, Los Angeles Rams backup quarterback Stetson Bennett confirmed his time away from the team was related to his mental health, Sarah Barshop of ESPN reports.

Bennett said he wanted to keep the reason for his absence "in-house," but when asked if it be "accurate to say that it fell under the umbrella of mental health," Bennett said, "Yeah, I'd say that."

Bennett, a 2023 fourth-round draft pick out of Georgia, was expected to back up Rams starting quarterback Matthew Stafford last season. Instead, Bennett went home.

"Thank goodness that [general manager] Les [Snead] and Coach [Sean] McVay and everybody involved allowed me to do that," Bennett said.

Bennett said he was "nervous the first day" he was back during the team's offseason program, but that it has "gotten better each day." When asked if he expected to be back with the Rams this season, he said "Yeah."

"It's been a pleasure working with him," offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. "I'm not going to get too much into specifics obviously, but he's in a good place and he is out here. He's done a great job being a sponge. ... He's come to work every single day focused with the intent of getting better. And that's all you can ask these guys. Just if their intent is right, which Stetson's is right now, that's all you can ask. And it's definitely shown."

Bennett said his time away from the team last year reminded him how much he loves the game of football and gave him a glimpse of what his life would be without it.

"And so you kind of come out here and you're hungry every single day," Bennett said. "And I don't know, it did make me like, 'Hey, this is ... You want to do this and you want to work hard every single day and get better.'"

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