The Los Angeles Rams thought they had found some stability at kicker when they pulled Blake Grupe off the New York Jets’ practice squad, but a torn ACL derailed that plan almost immediately. Head coach Sean McVay confirmed the injury, which came when Grupe lowered his shoulder to tackle Devin Duvernay on a kickoff against the Arizona Cardinals, and Los Angeles placed him on injured reserve Monday.
The kicker had gone 11-for-11 with the Indianapolis Colts last season, although he converted only 18 of 26 attempts during a stint with the New Orleans Saints that ended in his release.
He had just opened his Rams tenure with a 44-yard field goal in that same game. Arizona went on to win 18-16 on a walk-off field goal, with punter Ethan Evans attempting the go-ahead extra point despite never trying one in an NFL game.
It was another bump at a spot where the Rams had already released Harrison Mevis, who missed from 50 and 48 yards in a 37-34 overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills.
On Tuesday, Ian Rapoport reported that Los Angeles is signing veteran Brandon McManus, after three changes at the position in as many weeks. The Rams brought him in following a workout that included free agent Matt Prater.
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
McManus won Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos, hitting three field goals and an extra point, and went on to spend nine seasons with the Broncos before stops with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Green Bay Packers.
He finished 2025 with 297 made field goals on 362 career attempts, an 82 percent success rate, including 44 of 51 across two seasons in Green Bay.
However, his last stretch there included two missed field goals and a missed extra point in January’s wild-card loss to the Chicago Bears, and the Packers released him in May after drafting Trey Smack.
The Rams are 2-4 and have lost three games by a combined nine points, and they must get through six to 10 weeks without Davante Adams.
Los Angeles will face the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, with kickoff set for 4:25 p.m. ET.
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