In his first and only game with the Rams, kicker Blake Group suffered a torn ACL while making a tackle during a kick return. Which leaves the Rams without a kicker. For the second week in a row.
On Monday, coach Sean McVay told reporters that the Rams will be adding a new kicker very soon.
“We’re in the process,” McVay said. “[Assistant General Manager] John McKay, [special-teams coordinator] bubba [Ventrone], [General Manager] Les Snead, they’re working on some different options. “Sure, we’ll have something here in the next day or two.”
McVay was also asked about the 156-pound group’s decision to compete shoulder-to-shoulder during his return, which resulted in his injury.
“[H]“I did the instinctive thing of trying to get him out of bounds,” McVay said. “You want us to get the ball up front so the ball doesn’t get to him. But you might want to go down and avoid a knee injury. This was one of those deals that I felt really bad about. He does a great job of converting the ball into goals on his kicks. Then immediately after that you say, ‘You have to fuck me.’ I feel very bad for him. All I would say is maybe go lower instead of taking it higher.”
This is a tough situation for any kicker, especially one who is the smallest player on the field. His choice was to try to get a shoulder strike or basically get crushed.
For the Rams, it’s a matter of finding the right person to replace the man who replaced Harrison Mewis. They reportedly working out Brandon McManus and Matt Prater on Tuesday.