Rams Add Veteran Pro Bowler in Roster Shuffle Before Facing 49ers

The Los Angeles Rams announced a pair of moves before they face the San Francisco 49ers in Week 10, activating Pro Bowl long snapper Jake McQuaide and kicker Harrison Mevis to their active roster from the practice squad via standard elevations.

LA’s announcement culminates a week of change for the Rams’ special teams unit.

It also follows a strong vote of confidence from Rams head coach Sean McVay about the new-look special teams battery.

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Rams Retool Kicking Game Before Facing 49ers

McQuaide is in his second stint with the Rams, having entered the league with the franchise’s St. Louis iteration as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He spent the first 10 years of his career with the organization, transitioning back to LA with them in 2016.

McQuaide earned back-to-back Pro Bowls during his first Rams stint in 2016 and 2017.

He has also spent time with the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, and Pittsburgh Steelers, the latter of which was this past summer.

McQuaide has appeared in 197 games across 14 seasons in the NFL. Mevis, a UDFA in 2024, has never kicked during the regular season. He has had stints with the Carolina Panthers and, during the 2025 preseason, the New York Jets.

Mevis was 3-for-4, with his only miss coming from 50-plus yards, for the Jets.

Despite the lack of experience, McVay expressed as much confidence in the decision to turn to Mevis as going back to McQaide.

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Rams HC Sean McVay Gets Honest About New Special Teams Setup

McQuaide and Mevis take over for Joshua Karty, who was a sixth-round pick by the Rams last year, and Alex Ward, respectively. McVay spoke candidly about all that went into making the significant decision.

He also praised Karty and Ward for their handling of the situation.

In the end, McVay simply felt that Mevis and McQuaide offered the Rams a chance at more consistency. They have had issues with their kicking game all season.

“I think he’s [Mevis] handled himself well. He’s kicked in a lot of big games, you go back to his career at Missouri,” McVay told reporters on November 7. “Those guys, I expect them to do well as it relates to Jake and Mevis and their roles on Sunday against an excellent opponent.”

McVay said that Karty was “not going anywhere.”

Ward, a third-year former UDFA, appears to face a more uncertain future. Both players remain on the Rams’ official roster heading into Sunday’s contest.

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Rams Needed to Shore Up 3rd Phase

McVay spoke candidly about how problematic the Rams’ kicking issues had become before making the change to McQuaide and Mevis.

He initially spread the blame around Karty.

“It’s got to get better. We’re going to be able to figure out how to be able to fix this, but it can’t continue like this with regards to our kicking operation. I’m not going to get into blaming anybody specifically. Ultimately, it’s my responsibility. It’s gone on for too long, and we got to be able to fix it,” McVay told reporters on November 2.

“We got to be able to figure that out. But ultimately, that responsibility falls on me. But I am really proud of our football team as a whole. I thought our defense and offense were excellent. I thought Ethan Evans, with the two punts that he did have to hit, excellent job being able to pin them deep. And then, the one that we did end up having to cover when we were backed up was a really good job by our coverage unit. So we’ll put a positive spin on that.”

However, adding Mevis was the Rams’ first of their several moves to rework their kicking game. Their decisions come at a critical juncture of the season. McVay said on Friday that he would not “pigeonhole” himself into anything. So, Karty and Ward could retake their jobs at some point.

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