Rams Consider Two-Kicker Strategy to Address Special Teams Woes
Sean McVay explores activating Josh Karty for kickoffs alongside Brandon McManus to improve field position.
In an unconventional move aimed at bolstering their struggling special teams, the Los Angeles Rams are contemplating a two-kicker strategy for their upcoming game against the Chargers. Head coach Sean McVay is considering activating Josh Karty specifically for kickoffs, while veteran Brandon McManus would handle field goals and extra points.
This approach would utilize a valuable game-day roster spot for a specialized role, a testament to the team's desperation to fix a unit that has consistently underperformed. The Rams' kickoff coverage has been a significant issue throughout the season, with multiple kickers attempting to solve the problem without success. Blake Grupe's season-ending ACL injury on a kickoff tackle against the Cardinals highlighted the unit's vulnerability. Even in their most recent game against Las Vegas, opposing returners gained significant yardage on kickoffs, prompting McManus to be instructed to kick the ball through the end zone.
To address this, the Rams are looking to bring back Josh Karty, whom they drafted in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Karty developed a unique knuckleball-style kickoff, which he described as resembling a soccer free kick, designed to create unpredictable movement and minimize spin. This tactic proved effective in 2025, when opponents started drives at an average of their own 25.5-yard line, the best mark in the NFL. This season, without Karty, that average has increased to 34.6 yards, the second-worst in the league.
The Rams are not the first team to employ such a strategy. The Dallas Cowboys used a similar approach in 2009 with David Buehler handling kickoffs and Nick Folk handling field goals, and again in 2011 with Dan Bailey and Buehler. For the Rams, Karty's role would be focused on disrupting returners and improving field position, giving the coverage unit a better opportunity to make plays. McManus would retain his role as the primary placekicker.
While this strategy is seen as a potential solution to a pressing issue, it is acknowledged as a temporary fix for underlying problems within the special teams unit. Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone is tasked with addressing missed assignments and coverage breakdowns. However, if McVay's two-kicker experiment can yield improved field position, it could prove to be an effective, albeit unorthodox, strategy for the Rams.