Within a week, the Los Angeles Rams waived a kicker for blowing an overtime game-winner against Buffalo, signed Blake Grupe as his replacement, watched Grupe hit a 44-yarder on his first drive, and then lost him to a self-inflicted knee injury on the very next play.
Grupe initially delivered on Sunday, capping the offense’s opening drive with a successful 44-yard field goal.
That momentum vanished seconds later on the ensuing kickoff.
Grupe was the last line of defense as Arizona Cardinals returner Devin Duvernay broke through the coverage, and the 5-foot-7 kicker aggressively lowered his shoulder to force Duvernay out of bounds at the 47-yard line. The collision left Grupe on all fours, grimacing in pain.
Trainers took Grupe to the blue medical tent before he retreated to the locker room with a knee injury designation. He was ruled doubtful to return.
RAMS CUT KICKER HARRISON MEVIS AFTER BOTCHED FIELD GOAL ATTEMPT IN OVERTIME ‘COST US THE GAME’
The injury exit compounds a disastrous stretch for the Rams’ special teams. Rams GM Les Snead was forced to sign Grupe just days earlier after Harrison Mevis pushed a 48-yard attempt wide in overtime against the Bills, which cost Los Angeles the game.
Now, the Rams face another special teams headache.
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Following Grupe’s exit, punter Ethan Evans began taking reps into the practice net. He has zero NFL field goal attempts to his name.
Without a backup kicker on the active roster, head coach Sean McVay must treat Evans as an emergency-only option and heavily alter his play-calling to feature aggressive fourth-down conversions.
By Monday morning, the front office will likely be hunting for its third kicker in seven days.
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