LOS ANGELES — With two swings of his right leg, kicker Harrison Mevis allowed the Rams to breathe a little easier.
After two weeks of exclusively attempting — and exclusively making — extra points, the Rams’ new kicker finally was allowed to attempt two field goals in Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, from 40 and 52 yards. On the 52-yarder, pressure came around the edge with a chance to block. But Mevis’ kicks sailed untouched and true.
“The timing ended up beating it on the one 52-yarder that he had,” head coach Sean McVay said. “Overall, I’ve been really pleased with that operation as a whole. I think a lot of the work that the guys have put in behind the scenes … what’s refreshing is that you’re starting to see that translate for successful outcomes. I think the confidence is compounding and we want to continue to build on that.”
It was just four weeks ago that the Rams (9-2) reached a crossroads at kicker. Josh Karty, reliable as a rookie, missed five of 15 field goal attempts and three of 26 extra points. Several of these misses came off blocks, but the issues continued despite the Rams’ belief that they had fixed their protection.
After Karty missed a 39-yarder against the Saints, McVay admitted that the inconsistencies in the kicking game could be damaging for a Rams team with Super Bowl aspirations. The Rams worked out kickers the next two days and settled on Mevis in addition to bringing in veteran long snapper Jake McQuaide to replace Alex Ward.
The Rams hoped that Mevis’ consistent launch angle and timing on his field goals would help avoid future blocks, and that was the case against the Bucs.
“I feel good,” McVay said. “This guy’s got a nice, steady approach. I think Jake McQuaide’s done an excellent job as well. … I certainly have been pleased with what it’s looked like from the 49ers game on. I’m a lot happier just overall as a head coach when we’re kicking just extra points and not field goals, but I’ve been pleased and we’ve put a lot of work into it.”
What McVay did not want to do was give up hope on Karty entirely. The 2024 sixth-round pick had continued to work in practices on his craft, and McVay said he had seen real improvements over the last four weeks.
But on Friday, the team waived Karty as mounting injuries created a need for more roster flexibility on game days, which having two kickers on the active roster does not allow.
“We always had the intention of being able to keep two kickers,” McVay said. “It was just roster management. … It was just exclusively a numbers thing. It’s hard to keep two kickers with some of the things that have come up.”
McVay said the Rams hope that if Karty clears waivers they will be able to sign him back to the practice squad.
Briefly
Rams outside linebacker Byron Young (knee) did not practice on Friday after being a limited participant on Thursday. But McVay said the expectation still is for Young to play Sunday against the Carolina Panthers (6-6), and that he should not have any limitations.
“With the amount of experience that he has, you want to be smart,” McVay said. “He’s chomping at the bit. He’ll be ready to go.”