Special teams will be one of the biggest areas the Los Angeles Rams need to correct this offseason. Mistakes across kicking and kick returning have cost the Rams multiple games this year, so the entire unit will need to be evaluated before moving forward into next season.
One area that might already be fixed is at the kicker position. Harrison Mevis joined the Rams in Week 10 to replace Joshua Karty and went on to convert 18-of-19 field goal attempts and all 48 extra points in the regular season and playoffs.
But is this success enough to warrant another contract with the Rams? Let's go through the pro and cons of re-signing Mevis for 2026 (and possibly beyond).
It's hard to find consistent kicking success in the NFL. Karty's continued miscues were what ended his time in L.A. and ushered in Mevis, who missed just one kick all year long.
Mevis' 92.3% field goal conversion rate ranked seventh in the NFL among kickers with at least 13 attempts, and he was one of 10 kickers to make all his extra points. Unless the Rams are looking for something different out of their kicker, it doesn't make a lot of sense to try and look elsewhere if the current kicker is playing well.
Mevis has just 12 regular-season games of experience under his belt, including three playoff appearances. While he performed well in pressure situations, not all games are created equal and the lack of experience could play a role in future situations down the line.
The Rams may want to find a kicker with more reps and more games in 2026.
The kicker market is pretty inexpensive to begin with, but Mevis wouldn't cost a lot to keep in 2026. His base salary was only $840,000 in 2025, whereas top kickers can make anywhere from $5 million to $6 million.
There isn't a free-agent kicker worth more than a few million anyway, but Mevis would still be one of the cheaper options on the market.
Some teams use punters for kickoffs, while others use their placekicker. The Rams did both in 2025.
Karty had 11 kickoffs through the first nine weeks of the season, while punter Ethan Evans had 57 from Weeks 10 to 18 and then another 16 in the playoffs. Mevis, meanwhile, kicked the ball off six times in the regular season but none in the postseason.
This really isn't a big deal if the Rams are comfortable with Evans being their kickoff specialist. But, if the Rams don't keep Evans or want to use a kicker on kickoffs, they'll need to determine if Mevis is the man for the job. Mevis averaged 62 yards per kickoff with two touchbacks, while Evans averaged 64 with 46 touchbacks.
Sometimes you just want to keep guys around who like to be there. Mevis has been on the practice squads of the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets before he joined the Rams, and spoke affectionately about his time in L.A.
"Being with a few other teams, just coming in here and seeing what they had here, it was a tight-knit," he told team reporter Wyatt Miller after the season, "everyone was very close and it was really cool to see."
If the production is there already, it might be safer to keep a guy in-house who is good for the locker room.
Unless the Rams want a more experienced kicker, it makes more sense to keep Mevis in 2026. At worst, they can can bring in other guys to compete in the summer to make sure Mevis is the man for the job.
His price is perfect for a Rams team looking to fill other roster gaps, he likes playing in L.A., and there aren't really any other free agents who are noticeable upgrades on the open market. The only potential names the Rams could consider are Las Vegas Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson (who only hit 81.5% of his field goals in 2025 and missed a PAT) or Tennessee Titans kicker Joey Slye (who only hit 80.0% of his field goals but converted nine from more than 50 yards).
Special teams will be under scrutiny this offseason, but Mevis wasn't the problem for L.A. this year.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Should the Rams keep kicker Harrison Mevis?
