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4 things to know about Rams' new special teams ace Grant Stuard
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- 4 things to know about Rams' new special teams ace Grant Stuard
In addition to filling holes on offense and defense, the Los Angeles Rams also addressed their below-average special teams unit this offseason by signing Joe Cardona and Grant Stuard . Stuard is the team's newest linebacker and special teams ace, someone who's sure to help out on Bubba Ventrone's unit this year.
Stuard comes to Los Angeles after one season with the Lions in 2025, hitting free agency this offseason and signing a two-year deal worth up to $5.05 million with the Rams. Here are four things to know about the Rams' new core special teamer.
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He was Mr. Irrelevant in 2021
Stuard came into the NFL as a seventh-round pick five years ago, but not just any seventh-rounder. He was the final pick of the draft: Mr. Irrelevant, No. 259 overall. The Buccaneers drafted him out of Houston that year, and then traded him to the Colts for a sixth-round pick after one season.
He even appeared in an Uber Eats commercial for being the last pick in the draft, showing off his insanely long hair.
He was a captain of the Lions last season
The Rams are all about finding high-character players and Stuard checks that box. He was a captain as a senior at Houston and last season with the Lions, he was also voted a team captain.
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It wouldn't be a surprise if he's voted a captain in his first year with the Rams as a key special teams contributor; the Rams often like to have at least one representative from the offense, defense and special teams.
His single-game high in tackles is 19
Stuard has 92 career tackles in the regular season, but only once has he had more than four tackles in a single game. That came in 2024 when he earned the start at linebacker for the Colts, playing a career-high 92.8% of the snaps on defense.
He racked up 19 tackles that day, which to this day is 15 more than he's had in any other game. So 20% of his career tackles across five seasons have come in one game.
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He was a 2-time all-conference selection in college
Stuard was a standout linebacker at Houston. He played four years for the Cougars, finishing his career with 190 tackles (17 for a loss), two sacks and four passes defensed. He was named a second-team All-AAC selection in 2019 and was voted a first-team selection in 2020.
As a junior in 2019, he set a career-high with 97 tackles and 9.5 tackles for a loss before scoring his first touchdown as a senior in 2020 on a fumble return.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams sign Grant Stuard: 4 things to know about LA's new LB
