The Los Angeles Rams have cut kicker Josh Karty. The breakup was all but official after Harrison Mevis (the “Thiccer Kicker”) took over duties for the last three games. Releasing Karty likely helps in part to make room for recent activations from injured reserve in Ahkello Witherspoon and Tutu Atwell in addition to the signing of Derion Kendrick (recently cut by Seattle). Corner Roger McCreary was also placed on injured reserve this week.
It’s common in the NFL for kickers to go through ups and downs and find themselves on new teams. Karty probably has talent to stick in the league for years to come, though as the Rams learned kickers are somewhat interchangeable. It’s rare to have the same guy for a decade.
Los Angeles simply could not derail a potential Super Bowl season nor afford patience with Karty. This team is ready to win now, and Sean McVay and the front office quickly saw a need and fixed it as soon as they could. They deserve credit for doing the hard thing and moving on. Karty might develop and become useful for another team, but the Rams did not have the luxury of keeping two kickers on the roster amidst their recent rash of injuries. It was a an idea with fair intent but in the end a fruitless endeavor.
Were the field goal struggles all Karty’s fault? Likely not. The Rams had issues in protection and within the operation between the long snapper and holder, which is why they also swapped Alex Ward for Jake McQuaide. Still, Karty was to partly blame for the issues and it is clearly evident that LA immediately upgraded by bringing Mevis into the fold.
Mevis has been perfect in his short stint in LA. He’s been busy with extra point attempts in the offense’s recent surge. He made the first two field goals of his career under the Sunday Night Football primetime lights, including a make from outside of 50 yards.
There is no shortage of confidence with Mevis. He said recently that he is “here to stay”. In addition to field goals, he also kicked Josh Karty out of a job:
“I knew that I had proven and shown to myself that I’m definitely capable of playing in this league and that I’m going to be here for a long time,” Mevis told MizzouToday earlier this month. “I’m here to stay, and I’m good enough to help teams win games. That’s really my mindset.”
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