WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – Rams head coach Sean McVay on Wednesday announced Jimmy Garoppolo will start at quarterback this Sunday against the Seahawks (1:25 p.m. PT, FOX) and that the team will rest Matthew Stafford. Stetson Bennett will back up Garoppolo.
McVay said the team was still working through their approach toward Sunday's game regarding who rests and who does not.
"What I've seen is a guy that's approached it like a pro," McVay said of Garoppolo's approach to this season. "Been a great teammate. You can see just the respect, the reverence for Matthew, and really for each other, that they have for one another."
Garoppolo on Wednesday said the opportunity "has been a long time coming." Having signed with the Rams to be Stafford's backup, it will be Garoppolo's first start of the season, and first since Week 8 of last season with the Las Vegas Raiders.
His role in Los Angeles has primarily been running the scout team in practice. Besides praising the way Garoppolo has carried himself as a professional and teammate, McVay also said those practice reps from Garoppolo have been instrumental to the growth of the Rams' defense throughout the course of this season.
Garopollo said he found out he would be starting "a couple days ago," but already had an inclination that would be the case given the way this weekend's games unfolded.
"It's exciting," Garoppolo said. "About time to get out there with the guys and get some real football in."
Even though his role has been mostly behind-the-scenes up to this point, it has brought multiple valuable learning opportunities.
He's impressed with the amount of "brain power that goes on" in L.A.'s quarterback room, between Stafford, McVay, offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone and other coaches who spend time in that space. How tightly-run the operation is, the way little details aren't overlooked.
"They look at the game a little differently," Garoppolo said. "I mean, each offense is different, how you see the defense, but these guys, Sean does a really good job of explaining it in detail, too. He'll take the time to slow things down if you don't understand it. He'll explain it to you in a way that you do, which, as a teacher, that's really impressive. I haven't had many coaches that do that."
This role is one Garoppolo said he hasn't been in since his days with the Patriots, "so it was definitely a little different," but still enjoyable.
"I mean, doing scout team, there's a part of scout team that I really enjoy," Garoppolo said. "You get to study the other quarterback, what he does. You get to see how he uses cadences, how he uses motions, different things like that. And I always think that you could find something in everyone's game and apply it to your own. So that's really what I've tried to do this year running the scout team, and it's done some good for me. So just gotta go out there on Sunday and show it."
McVay said Garoppolo has brought leadership "and a natural zest" for approach each day. That authentic enthusiasm "becomes contagious" and "you see why guys at other spots have loved him." He also praised Garoppolo's authentic humility and coachability, as well as being a joy to be around.
In terms of McVay's expectations for Garoppolo on Sunday, it's simply "just go be yourself."
"He's had a lot of success, and want to go see guys play well around him, and be able to enjoy the opportunity to do what he loves, and that's go play and compete," McVay said.
