The Los Angeles Rams are bringing back kicker Brett Maher after cutting the struggling Lucas Havrisik, head coach Sean McVay announced on Monday.
The kicking position has been an issue for the Rams all season after they watched Matt Gay sign with the Indianapolis Colts in free agency.
They began the year with the veteran Maher, who was coming off a rough end to last season with the Dallas Cowboys. Maher actually started off the season well for the Rams, but then began to struggle, albeit after being put in some tough positions on some long attempts.
Overall in seven games, Maher made 17-of-23 field goal attempts and 12-of-13 extra points. The Rams were struggling to find wins at the time with his missed kicks playing a part, so they decided to part ways with Maher and brought in the young kicker Havrisik off of the Colts’ practice squad.
Havrisik has kicked the last nine games for the Rams and has had similar struggles to Maher, particularly of late. Havrisik has only made 15-of-20 field goal attempts and 19-of-22 extra points.
In the Rams’ Week 17 win over the Giants, Havrisik missed two extra points, which almost cost the team in their 26-25 victory.
The Rams also brought in veteran kicker Mason Crosby at one point to compete with Havrisik, but he was never active for a game and was cut shortly after. Funny enough, he is now with the Giants and missed a 54-yard field goal as time expired to secure the win for L.A.
Rams clinched postseason berth with win over Giants
With the win over the Giants couple with a Seattle Seahawks loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Rams clinched a berth in the postseason as either the sixth or seventh seed in the NFC. Having a reliable kicker in the postseason will be crucial for McVay’s team, so the hope is that Maher will be able to figure it out in short order.
More must-reads: