Can we please stop making such a big deal about Stetson Bennett’s age already?

The Los Angeles Rams had to make a significant upgrade under center behind Matthew Stafford following a disastrous 2022 season. During the NFL Draft, the organization delivered by drafting two-time national champion quarterback Stetson Bennett out of Georgia in the fourth round. Bennett officially signed his rookie deal which will run through his age-29 campaign.

Whenever anyone in the media mentions Bennett by name, they always feel the need to include his age. As if we didn’t know the guy was 25 already. We get it, the former Bulldog is “elderly” by QB standards. Give it a rest already. Did everyone forget that Bennett’s fellow draftmate Hendon Hooker taken just a round ahead of him is also 25? Yet most times when the media mentions Hooker, his age is hardly mentioned in comparison to the Rams’ rookie.

Bennett is clearly not the only signal caller from his draft class in an advanced age bracket. How on earth did it become this way? My guess is that when winning back-to-back national championships, every little thing about him was placed under the media microscope for all to see. They’ve blatantly constructed an age concern narrative about him that the Rams didn’t listen to. If they had, Bennett wouldn’t be in LA. Hooker went into the draft with a torn-ACL and that was more of a talking point for draft analysts rather than his age. Either way, I can’t be the only one who’s grown fed up with all the Bennett memes that have circulated since LA selected him.

Related: Is 25th a fair ranking for Rams QB Stetson Bennett among backups?

Hooker also signed a four-year deal with the Lions so where are all the jokes at his expense? These jokes aren’t even clever. They’ve grown about as stale as the Russell Wilson “Let’s Ride” memes recycled over the course of his brutal first season with the Broncos. Now I’m not one to guess what will become of Bennett’s career in Los Angeles. What I do know is that any concerns over his age as legitimate as they might be, are growing quite tiresome.

Those in the business tend to have short memories regarding the history surrounding the most well-known signal callers. A QB’s prime isn’t restricted to one specific age grouping. Some quarterbacks had their best success as they approached their 30s and beyond. Jim Plunkett was a bust in New England before unlocking his potential into his 30s with Oakland, winning a pair of Super Bowls in the process. Hall of Famer Kurt Warner came out of nowhere to win his first MVP award at age 28 while leading the Rams to a win over Tennessee in Super Bowl XXXIV.

Am I saying that Bennett will reach those same heights in LA or elsewhere? Again, no one can predict the future no matter how hard they try. We’ll never truly know for sure. While Plunkett and Warner were unique cases, these “experts” debating whether Bennett’s age will hinder him in the NFL don’t know a thing. No one knows anything about a particular player until they’re given a chance to develop.

From one whippersnapper to another, let’s quit it with the age-related Stetson Bennett material. We all know the conversation around him would be vastly different if he were a tad younger.