Rams place Blake Grupe on IR as kicker problem continues to spiral out of control originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Coming into the 2026 NFL season, the Los Angeles Rams were widely viewed as the clear top Super Bowl contender. They could still win it all this season, but it's going to take a comeback to do so.
Through six weeks, the Rams are 2-4. They just lost to the Arizona Cardinals at home. Throughout the season for the Rams, there's been one underlying issue that's yet to be resolved: special teams. Specifically, this year's issue is the kicking unit.
After cutting Harrison Mevis, the Rams signed Blake Grupe to be their new kicker. But in his debut, he was knocked hard to the ground trying to make a tackle on a kick return, and now is, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, landing on injured reserve.
Rams place Blake Grupe on IR as kicking issues get worse
"The Rams placed K Blake Grupe on IR after he suffered a knee injury yesterday trying to make a tackle on a kick return," Garafolo reports.
This is another brutal blow for the Rams' special teams unit this season. What makes this so much worse for the Rams is that his injury came right after kicking a 44-yard field goal on his first try for the Rams.
But when he got hurt, the Rams were left without a kicker, being forced to rely on their punter Ethan Evans, who made a go-ahead point-after-try (PAT) late in the game.
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If Grupe hadn't gotten hurt, the Rams might've won this Week 6 game against the Cardinals, and they might've finally found a kicker they could trust.
Unfortunately, Grupe was hit hard trying to make a tackle, and now he will land on IR for the Rams, being forced to miss the next four games at a minimum.
Sean McVay now, once again, has to explore the kicker market as he searches for help on special teams this season. It's just an endless struggle for this Rams team, and this Grupe news is another blow that continues the downward spiral of this Rams special teams unit.
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