Dallas, TX
It's prove-it time for Rams QB Stetson Bennett in preseason start against Dallas
Stetson Bennett has not taken a game snap since the Rams’ final preseason game last year at Denver.
So the quarterback is looking forward to Sunday’s preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi Stadium.
“I’m excited to play football again,” Bennett said.
Bennett, a two-national champion at Georgia and 2023 fourth-round draft pick, struggled in that defeat at Denver. Soon after, the Rams placed him on the NFL’s nonfootball injury/illness list and he spent the season away from the team.
During the spring, Bennett rejoined the Rams for offseason workouts, acknowledged that he had dealt with mental-health issues and worked his way back into a position group that includes starter Matthew Stafford and backup Jimmy Garoppolo.
Stafford and other starters will not play in preseason games, and coach Sean McVay said Friday he had not decided whether Garoppolo would play.
Regardless, Bennett is expected to get the majority of work, while McVay cedes play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur.
Bennett has “a nice swagger and a charisma about himself that is fun to watch,” McVay said. On Sunday, McVay wants to see Bennett command the huddle, manage the offense and enjoy the opportunity.
“When I’ve seen him at his best, he’s having fun and that’s really consistent with all players,” McVay said. “So just go cut it loose, play and enjoy it.
“I thought we felt that in the first preseason game, a little bit last year when he was flashing and doing those kinds of things. So that’s what I’m looking forward to seeing.”
Bennett said “fun for me” is being prepared and executing plays.
“It’s not running around and skipping and jumping,” he said. “It’s playing quarterback — playing it well and throwing good passes and making good decisions.”
After a joint practice with the Cowboys on Thursday, McVay said he was leaning toward not playing Garoppolo, but would have a conversation with the veteran to gauge whether he wanted to play before making a decision.
Under normal circumstances — McVay does not play starters or other key players during the preseason — it would not be an issue. But Garoppolo is suspended for the first two regular-season games for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances policy while playing for the Las Vegas Raiders. So the preseason is Garoppolo’s only opportunity to take game snaps before a Sept. 22 game against the San Francisco 49ers.
“I’m pretty open either way,” Garoppolo, who began his career with the New England Patriots, said of playing during the preseason. “I’ve been on both sides of it. With the Patriots, you kind of never knew if you were going to play or if you weren’t going to play, so I’m always ready.
“Whatever [McVay] decides I’ll be ready for. I think it’s good, though, to get out there and let the guys feel you in the huddle. It’s just different, that game-day feeling and the energy of being out there. You try to replicate it, but it’s just different.”
If he does not play during the preseason, Garoppolo said he would be prepared when eligible in Week 3.
“It comes back pretty quickly,” he said. “It’s more about just getting on the same page with the guys, the receivers especially, the timing, things like that. But we do so much of it out here, all those little things, they’re adding up.”
Other things to watch for Sunday:
Dallas, TX
2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule officially announced
Behold the 2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule.
We knew coming into Thursday that the Cowboys would be on the road to take on the New York Giants in the season opener on Sunday Night Football, that Dallas is “hosting” the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil in Week 3, and that the Philadelphia Eagles would be in town for Thanksgiving Day. Now we know it all.
Among the first things that jump to mind is that bye week is late. Dallas isn’t on bye until Week 14, the Sunday of that week is December 13th for full perspective.
The Cowboys also only play twice in their own building, thanks to the Brazil game, before November. Sometimes those weird quirks show up in schedules and this is certainly one of them.
It is interesting to see that the NFL gave Dallas the longest amount of rest possible after their Thanksgiving tilt. It hasn’t been uncommon for the league to have the Cowboys play on consecutive Thursdays, but perhaps that is a thing of the past.
Dallas, TX
Dallas Approves $180,500 for New Botham Jean Boulevard Street Signs
Flashit Photography
On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council approved funding that will replace highway exit signs and road signs marking Lamar Street with new signage honoring Botham Jean, the 26-year-old Dallas accountant who was fatally shot in his own apartment by an off-duty Dallas police officer in 2018.
The $180,500 in funding for 13 signs to be installed by the Texas Department of Transportation is the final step in the street renaming that was unanimously approved by the council in 2021. The new signs will be placed at exits along Interstate 45, State Highway 310 and U.S. Highway 175.
Already, Botham Jean Boulevard signs run along the road in the Cedars, where Jean lived before he was killed.
“This street on which he chose to live and the street on which he died can serve as a lasting memory of the upstanding resident who loved Dallas so much,” his mother, Allison Jean, told the council in 2021.
Jean was shot by Amber Guyger, a Dallas police officer, after she entered his apartment believing it was her own. A Dallas jury found Guyger guilty of murder in 2019 and sentenced her to 10 years in prison. She has also been ordered to pay the Jean family nearly $100 million in a civil trial, which accused her of using excessive force.
The Jean family is seeking restitution from the city of Dallas because they argue that Dallas, as Guyger’s former employer, had a duty to defend Guyger and pay out claims brought against her. The Jean family filed suit against the city in April of this year.
On Wednesday, city council member Adam Bazaldua stated that the continued remembrance of Jean’s name is a reminder that “no one is above the law.”
“This has never simply been about changing street signs; it has always been about commemorating a life that was taken too soon,” said Bazaldua. “When driving down Botham Jean Boulevard, we are reminded of the thousands of lives lost across the country each year to senseless gun violence.”
Bazaldua said that once city leaders were made aware that some signs from the initial 2021 street name change had not materialized, the horseshoe took steps to correct the oversight “somewhat promptly.” But he acknowledged that Wednesday’s funding came on the heels of community advocacy urging the project’s completion.
Community leader Yafeuh Balogun said his organization, Community Movement Builders, began asking the city for the updated signs in September 2025. Addressing the council ahead of Wednesday’s vote, Balogun encouraged the horseshoe to vote in favor of the funds because it “would make no sense” to not follow through with the street renaming approved years ago.
“I think this is very powerful simply because driving here today, I still saw the Lamar Street Signs,” Balogun said. “I remember how powerful it was back in 2021 when the city council voted to rename Lamar Street to Botham Jean. I’d like to keep that legacy going.”
Dallas, TX
World Cup volunteers receive uniforms, new tickets released
We’re less than a month out from the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and North Texans volunteering in the event have received their uniforms. FOX 4’s Peyton Yager has more on that and the new hospitality tickets released today.
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