The Los Angeles Rams have made a change at kicker following their Monday night loss to the Buffalo Bills . On Tuesday morning, the Rams signed kicker Blake Grupe off of the New York Jets' practice squad to hopefully bring some stability to the kicking operation.
Through the first five weeks of the season, the Rams have had problems on special teams, primarily with the kicking operation. Heading into Monday's game, Mevis was still just 5-for-7 and had a miss from 48 yards last week against the Eagles. In Monday night's loss, Mevis missed from 50 yards and also had a potential game-winning kick blocked in overtime.
While Mevis brought some stability to the kicking operation last season, there were always questions about his range. Mevis had been perfect with extra points and 19-for-20 inside of 45 yards. However, beyond 45 yards is where Mevis lacked consistency , and in today's NFL, teams need a kicker who can hit from range when called upon.
Mevis had some strong moments, including hitting the game-winner last year against the Chicago Bears in difficult conditions in overtime. However, he was too inconsistent to start 2026 and the Rams were forced to make a change.
Grupe will now replace Mevis in Los Angeles. An undrafted free agent in 2023, Grupe spent three seasons with the New Orleans Saints. He had missed eight field goal attempts in 2025 and was eventually cut.
However, Grupe does have proven range. After being cut by the Saints, Grupe made a 60-yard field goal with the Indianapolis Colts. While he was brought back in the offseason, he lost the competition to Spencer Shrader in training camp. According to ColtsWire , Grupe was steady in training camp but struggled in the preseason games. During the preseason, Grupe was 2-for-4 with one miss inside of 40 yards and another miss beyond 50.
Grupe has a career field-goal percentage of 81.9 percent. He's 86-for-105 in his career and 19-for-27 beyond 50 yards with a long of 60.
While the Rams signed Grupe, it shouldn't be the only move that they make. The Rams should also consider signing another kicker, such as Tanner Brown or Joshua Karty, to their practice squad in case they need to make another change or simply want to hold an active competition.
Adding Grupe is a step in the right direction, but an argument can be made that this should have been done a long time ago. The Rams should have made these special teams changes in the offseason, but instead stuck with the status quo. After sticking with Xavier Smith, he was cut after Week 3. The Rams stuck with Mevis and didn't bring in any competition, only to cut him after their Week 5 loss.
The Rams have now made changes at both punt returner and kicker in the span of two weeks, but it remains to be seen whether those moves will be enough to fix a special teams unit that has consistently cost them games. Grupe may not be the long-term answer at kicker, but the Rams can't afford to continue learning lessons on special teams the hard way.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/onsi as Rams Signing Kicker Blake Grupe Is a Necessary Change That Was Long Overdue .
