The Los Angeles Rams made a surprising move on Sunday when they signed punter Jack Bouwmeester. Bouwmeester was signed as an international player as he's originally from Australia and therefore is exempt from a roster spot.
In all likelihood, Bouwmeester is simply a preseason body to keep Ethan Evans fresh heading into the regular season, but it is interesting nonetheless. Throughout the entire offseason, the Rams didn't bring in any competition at punter despite a lot of questions on special teams. The Rams also haven't brought in someone to kick in place of Harrison Mevis over the next two preseason games.
Evans didn't play poorly against the Chiefs, but his first two punts did cause some concern . Since Evans' rookie season, his leg has never been an issue. However, he has had problems out-kicking his coverage and putting more pressure on the coverage unit.
The Rams' punter averaged 60.8 yards per punt against the Chiefs on Saturday, which was the second-highest number in the first week of the preseason. With that said, among punters with at least three attempts, Evans' 12.3 yards per return was the seventh-highest.
That's still a net of 48.5 yards per punt, which was the fifth-highest in the NFL. The issue with Evans remains his placement and lack of hangtime. Evans had an average hangtime of 4.53 seconds. For comparison, AJ Cole of the Las Vegas Raiders averaged 61 yards per punt and averaged a hangtime of 4.89. That's over a full quarter-second more.
Among the nine punters who averaged over 50 yards per punt, Evans' 4.53-second hangtime was tied for fifth. His average yards per return of 12.3 ranked seventh. It's a good indication of how much pressure Evans is putting on the coverage unit.
Bouwmeester punted one season at Texas, where Les Snead's stepson, Tate Haver, was one of the team's long snappers. Last season at Texas, 23 of Bouwmeester's 55 punts landed inside the 20. He averaged 44.7 yards per punt with a net of 39.2. However, he averaged a hangtime of just 4.03 seconds. Pro Football Focus graded him as the 27th-best punter in the country last season.
Prior to Texas, Bouwmeester punted at Utah, where he was a First-Team Pac-12 selection in 2023 and Second-Team in 2024. In 2023, he led the Pac-12 and ranked No. 16 nationally with 45.5 yards per punt.
While he went undrafted, Bouwmeester was signed by the 49ers before being cut last week. Again, it remains unlikely that Bouwmeester is real competition for Evans and earns a roster spot. Still, his international designation makes him someone who the Rams can keep around and develop. The next two weeks will also be an opportunity for some live-game reps and tape for other teams as well.
The Rams head into the 2026 season with some serious questions on special teams. While the special teams unit had some positive moments against the Kansas City Chiefs , it appears the team may still be looking to make improvements .
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/onsi as Rams Add Competition at Punter for Remainder of Preseason .
