The Los Angeles Rams are officially rolling with two kickers on their active roster, signing both Joshua Karty and Brandon McManus before Week 9, and the move immediately screams desperation given Karty’s struggles. Just last week, Karty botched two kickoffs, failing to hit them into the landing zone and gifting the opponent a starting field position at the 40-yard line due to penalty. It’s a bold play, but when your kicking game is this much of a question mark, maybe “bold” is just another word for “confused.”
Two Kickers, One Big Question Mark
So, the plan is for Joshua Karty to handle kickoffs, while Brandon McManus takes over field goal duties. McManus has been flawless on his attempts since joining the Rams, which is good, but let’s be real: he hasn’t faced a high-pressure, game-winning kick yet. We haven’t seen if he can come through when the chips are truly down. The team’s gonna find out eventually if McManus can handle that kind of heat, and they’ll also see if Karty can somehow clean up his kickoff woes. But let’s be honest, despite all these changes, the kicking position is still a huge question mark for them.
It’s pretty clear the Rams are making moves, but they don’t exactly know what the heck they’re doing. Points for trying, I guess, but “points for trying” doesn’t always translate to actual points on the field. What’s even wilder? They signed Karty from the practice squad to the 53-man roster after elevating him for the first time just last week. They could’ve used two more temporary elevations, but maybe they’re saving those for other positions. Oh, and while all this kicker drama was going down, they also reunited with cornerback David Long Jr., signing him to the practice squad. Long was a third-round pick back in 2019, so there’s that.
Offense: Less Than a Quarter of Last Year’s Explosiveness
As if the kicking situation wasn’t enough, there’s a serious, concerning trend developing on the Rams’ offense. Through eight weeks this season, their passing game has an explosive play rate of just 4.1 percent. Let that sink in. At this point last year, their passing game was hitting an explosive play rate of 17.5 percent, and it finished the season at 18.2 percent. That means their passing game is less than one-fourth as explosive as it was a year ago. That’s a huge drop-off!
Sure, there’s some context. Davante Adams and Puka Nacua have both missed games, and Terrance Ferguson has been out since Week 3. Plus, the Rams just haven’t been pushing the ball downfield very often. This lack of explosiveness definitely helps explain why they’ve had trouble scoring consistently. Getting yards hasn’t been the main issue, which is bizarre. They actually rank sixth in touchdown rate once they get into the red zone. But if you can’t break off big plays, it just makes everything that much harder.
It’s Week 9, and the Rams are grappling with a bizarre two-kicker experiment and an offense that’s lost its spark. They’re trying to figure things out, but “trying” only gets you so far in the NFL. Every game from here on out is a chance to see if these moves pay off, or if their season continues to be defined by these glaring issues.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Turf Show Times.
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