Grading Rams Signing of Brandon McManus: The Latest Chapter in a Never-Ending Nightmare

When the Los Angeles Rams put kicker Blake Grupe on injured reserve on Monday, it was reported that they worked out veteran kickers Brandon McManus and Matt Prater. After holding a competition, the Rams have opted to sign McManus according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. 

Speaking to the media on Monday, head coach Sean McVay said that they were in the process of replacing Grupe. The group of Assistant GM John McKay, Special Teams Coordinator Bubba Ventrone, and General Manager Les Snead worked on different options and eventually opted with McManus. 

McManus made just 80 percent of his field goals last year in the regular season with the Green Bay Packers, going 24-for-30. In the playoffs against the Chicago Bears, McManus went 0-for-2 on field goals, missing from 55 and 44 yards. He also missed an extra point in what was a 31-27 loss. The Packers cut McManus in May.

The Rams will hope that McManus can provide some immediate stability at the kicker position. At 35 years old, he’s at least a veteran presence and a known commodity. Even if he isn’t the kicker that he was in his prime, he still made a kick from 56 yards last year and is one season removed from making 95.2 percent of his field goals in 2024. 

At this point in the season, there aren’t a plethora of great kicking options available.. This remains something that the Rams should have done in July rather than having to do it now in October. It’s a similar approach to the one the Rams took in 2023 when they signed Brett Maher.

Grade: D-

No matter who the Rams signed at kicker, it would be an ‘is what it is’ situation. Matt Prater went 18-for-20 on field goals last year and 5-for-5 in the playoffs. Both options are simply putting a Band-Aid over a bullet wound, and neither provides a long-term solution. It still seems odd that the Rams won’t sign a player like Tanner Brown to their practice squad just to give them a younger option to develop. 

The Rams’ handling of their special teams and field goal unit has been a disaster. Even if they had confidence in Harrison Mevis, he didn’t perform well enough to not have any competition this offseason. Grupe finally gave them some upside if he had worked out but got injured on his first kickoff because the coverage unit didn’t do its job.

Even with McManus, the Rams will likely be searching for another kicker during the offseason. Given how they handled Joshua Karty and the lack of development with Mevis, it’s fair to question whether this coaching staff and front office can identify and then develop a kicker that finally resolves the issues. 

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