The Rams find themselves in urgent need of a kicker for the second consecutive week following a significant injury to recently added specialist Blake Grupe. During his first and only game with the team, Grupe suffered a torn ACL while attempting to make a tackle on a kick return.
Addressing reporters on Monday, coach Sean McVay confirmed that the front office is moving quickly to secure a replacement. General Manager Les Snead, Assistant General Manager John McKay, and special-teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone are currently examining various possibilities.
“We’re in the process,” McVay said regarding the search. “John McKay, Bubba Ventrone, Les Snead, those guys are working on some different options. Certainly, we’ll have something here in the next day or two.”
As part of that immediate evaluation process, the team is reportedly working out veteran kickers Brandon McManus and Matt Prater on Tuesday.
The injury occurred when the 156-pound Grupe elected to engage in a shoulder-to-shoulder tackle during a kick return rather than stepping aside. The sequence left McVay expressing sympathy for the specialist while also analyzing the defensive mechanics of the play.
“He did an instinctual thing to try to knock him out of bounds,” McVay noted. “You’d like us to shoulder leverage the ball up on the front line first so that it doesn’t get spit out to him. But maybe you go lower and avoid the knee injury. It was kind of one of those deals that I felt terrible. He does a great job converting on his kick. Then right after that you’re like, ‘You got to be shitting me.’ I feel terrible for him. The only thing I’d say is maybe go low instead of taking him on high.”
For kickers, particularly those who rank among the smaller players on the field, tracking down a returner presents difficult physical choices between absorbing a direct collision or attempting an open-field tackle. Grupe’s misfortune highlights those recurring risks.
The looming roster move marks another personnel shuffle for the Rams at the position, as they look to replace the specialist who had previously stepped in for Harrison Mevis.
