Aug 9, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams place kicker Joshua Karty (16) during the game against the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Rams Create Sudden Competition For Joshua Karty

Originally posted on Los Angeles Rams on SI
By Brock Vierra | Last updated Nov 5, 2025 1:46 PM ET

WOODLAND HILL, Ca. After stating he would make moves to fix the kicking game , the Los Angeles Rams and Sean McVay have added another special teams player to the practice squad.

The Roster Moves

The Rams signed kicker Harrison Mevis and to open up that roster spot, Ronnie Rivers was signed to the active roster. Rivers, who was activated twice already this season, would have had to have been signed to the active roster anyway if he was activated a third time if the team wished to use him down the road.

LA Rams Roster Moves:
• Signed to Practice Squad K Harrison Mevis
• Signed from Practice Squad to Active Roster RB Ronnie Rivers pic.twitter.com/yyC6J7lrPQ
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 5, 2025

This comes one day after the Rams signed former longtime long snapper Jake McQuaide to the practice squad.

The Instant Analysis

Enough is enough for Sean McVay. He said it on Sunday, he said it on Monday. He made things clear when he stated that the Rams spent Monday morning examining each part of their kicking operation and would be making appropriate moves.

We didn't know what that meant at that time because the Rams like to keep things in-house, especially when dealing with people's jobs but now that the team has identified the biggest problem preventing them from winning, McVay won't hesitate to make a move and neither will Les Snead.

Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

If they still have jobs, something we won't get clarity on until Wednesday afternoon, Joshua Karty and Alex Ward have little time to rewrite the narrative on their careers. Why things have gone sideways after a strong 2024 and what looked like to be a clean operation throughout training camp and preseason remains a mystery, but it's no longer time to look for answers but for solutions.

The part that one must question is that outside of the blocked kicks, Karty has had a strong season.

Outside of kicks that had something occur outside of Karty's control like blocked kicks and bad holds, Karty has hit the majority of his kicks, including ones in the clutch to force overtime against the 49ers.

Blocked kicks were a result of bad protections and potentially the result of a change in trajectory due to the implementation of the knuckleball kickoff. Neither of those things are on Karty.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Whatever the Rams do, there's one lesson to remember. In 2022, the Rams signed Cameron Dicker as a UDFA out of Texas. They would release him. He eventually went down to the Chargers and is now on pace to be the greatest kicker in NFL history.

If Karty is to go, just make sure you're sure history won't repeat itself.

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This article first appeared on Los Angeles Rams on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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