Stetson Bennett, Warren McClendon sign with Los Angeles Rams
Former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett and offensive tackle Warren McClendon get to continue being teammates in the pros. Both taken by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2023 NFL Draft this spring, the pair of Bulldog rookies signed their contracts to make it official Thursday afternoon.
Bennett’s contract is projected to be worth $4,539,140 with a $699,140 signing bonus. McClendon’s comes in at $4,084,980 with a projected bonus of $244,980. Both players were taken during the third day of the draft with Bennett off the board in the fourth round followed by McClendon not too long after in the fifth.
Bennett became the first Georgia quarterback to throw for over 4,000 yards in program history during the 2022 season, completing 310 of 454 passes for 4,127 yards and 27 touchdowns. He also added 10 more scores on the ground. Doing so earned Bennett a spot in New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist while he also won the Burlsworth Trophy as the top former walk-on and the Manning Award as the nation’s top quarterback, including postseason play in the decision process.
Among Bennett’s many strong performances on the season was an especially impressive one in the National Championship Game – played at the Rams’ home stadium in Inglewood, Calif. Bennett earned Offensive MVP honors for Georgia in a 65-7 win over TCU throwing for 304 yards and four touchdowns while added 39 more and two touchdowns on the ground. His combined six scores ties a National Championship Game record with 2020 No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow, now of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Both Rams general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay have praised Bennett already, indicating that he was a part of their plan going into the draft and that the’s gotten off to a strong start out West.
“I think because of his journey people take for granted that this guy is a really good football player,” McVay said. “Because of the background and the way that he became the starter at Georgia, it’s a little bit unconventional and it wasn’t the five-star route, I think it minimized the athleticism, the ability to create off schedule. He’s a natural thrower of the football, he can play with great anticipation, throws the ball with accuracy, plays within the timing … He’s around great players but he elevated those guys.”
As for McClendon, the soft spoken South Georgia native lets his play do the talking. He started games for Georgia in each of the past three seasons, trotting out with the first team in 38 straight contests from 2020 until late in the 2022 season.
McClendon first came onto the scene in the season-opener of the 2020 campaign against Arkansas. Just like Stetson Bennett did, McClendon entered for a struggling starter at his position and helped save the day for the Dawgs who were trailing to a team hadn’t won an SEC game in two seasons. The streak started in the next outing against Auburn and continued through the entirety of the 2021 season and deep into the 2022 schedule as well. Had it not been for the injury, McClendon would have reached 40.
McClendon was named a Freshman All-American in 2020 as a redshirt freshman. He played the entirety of the Bulldogs’ offensive snaps in six games his redshirt sophomore year including battles against Clemson, Kentucky, Florida, Michigan and Alabama. Then, back for a fourth-year, he helped act as a leader not only for the offensive line but the entirety of the team.
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