The Los Angeles Rams are turning to a new kicker after Monday night’s 37-34 overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills, with NFL Media reporting the team is releasing Harrison Mevis and signing Blake Grupe off the New York Jets’ practice squad.
Mevis, better known as “the Thiccer Kicker,” was perfect on extra points against Buffalo, going 4-for-4. But the field goals were a different story.
He missed from 50 yards in the first quarter, then came up short again in overtime on a 48-yard try to win the game. That final kick was tipped by Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau.
Grupe arrives with a very different profile. At 5-foot-7 and 156 pounds, he’s one of the smallest players in the league, but he brings a stronger recent track record.
The undrafted Notre Dame product entered the NFL in 2023 and has spent time with the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts. The Jets claimed him off waivers in August and kept him on their practice squad throughout this season so far.
Across 50 career games, Grupe has made 81.9% of his field goals, with a long of 60, and 98% of his extra points. In 2025, he played 11 games for the Saints and hit 18 of 26 field goals. He also appeared in five games for the Colts, where he went 11-for-11 on field goals and made every extra point.
Mevis’ exit comes after a rough season that has dragged down his overall numbers. He played 14 games for the Rams over the past two years, going 12-for-13 on field goals and perfect on all 39 extra-point tries in nine games last year. This season, though, he hit just 5 of 9 field goals, a 55.6% rate that ranks last in the league.
The Rams’ problems in Buffalo went beyond the kicker, too. Head coach Sean McVay took heat for a conservative approach in overtime after Los Angeles had needed only a field goal to win.
At the Bills’ 35-yard line, McVay called a short pass to Puka Nacua on second-and-10 for five yards, then went to Kyren Williams on third-and-5 and got stuffed at the line of scrimmage. That sequence set up the missed 48-yarder.
McVay’s decision-making stood out even more because the Rams offense had just strung together three straight touchdown drives to close the fourth quarter.
"I thought offensively and defensively we battled," McVay said after the game. "Thought some of the coverage units, we did some really good stuff.
And then the kicking game, especially with our PAT, field goal - not even close to good enough. It cost us the game tonight."
The issues in the kicking game fit a broader special teams slide for Los Angeles. As CBS Sports’ Zach Pereles noted, the Rams have struggled there over the last two seasons.
This year, they rank 29th in yards per kickoff return and 26th in yards per kickoff return allowed. They’re also 30th in net yards per punt and 26th in opponent net yards per punt.
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