The Rams spent much of the offseason trying to clean up a special teams mess that repeatedly burned them in 2025, and now a quieter battle in training camp could end up mattering more than most people realize.
Los Angeles finished 26th in DVOA on special teams last season, with the field goal unit ranking 30th and the punt unit 28th. The breakdowns showed up in painful spots.
The Rams lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3 after two field goals were blocked. In Week 16, Rashid Shaheed’s punt return helped swing momentum in the Seattle Seahawks’ 16-point comeback.
Even in the Wild Card win over the Carolina Panthers, the Rams had a punt blocked. Then came the NFC Championship, where Xavier Smith muffed a punt and the Seahawks scored on the very next play.
That kind of season pushed Sean McVay into unfamiliar territory. He had never made a coordinator change in-season before, but the Rams were so shaky on special teams that he fired Chase Blackburn in the middle of the year.
This offseason, the changes were limited. Harrison Mevis stayed at kicker despite his miss in the Week 16 loss to the Seahawks, and Ethan Evans remained at punter even though he was below average for much of the season. The Rams instead turned to new voices on the sideline, hiring Bubba Ventrone and Kyle Hoke to coach special teams, then adding long-snapper Joe Cardona and linebacker Grant Stuard for some extra experience on the unit.
“It's a new season and I'm coming in here with a clean slate.” said Ventrone. “We've acquired a handful of really talented football players and guys like Grant Stuard and Joe Cardona, who I've both had experience with and I’m excited about working with those guys. But I think it comes down to really establishing your football philosophy and what you believe in and things like that.”
Ventrone also pointed to the basics, which was a problem area for the Rams last season. His track record is mixed with the Cleveland Browns, but he was widely regarded as one of the league’s top special teams coordinators during his time with the Indianapolis Colts.
What has changed in camp is the return game. Smith remains in the mix, but the Rams have started giving Kyren Williams reps as a punt returner. Williams was back there after Smith’s muffed punt in the NFC Championship, and the team seems open to using him there again.
“We have a lot of options back there,” said Ventrone. “Xavier is going to keep developing.
We're going to keep training him. I think Kyren is an option…Competition brings out the best in everybody so we're going to get guys opportunities and we'll see what happens.”
The Rams have seen this movie before. Pharoh Cooper once made a Pro Bowl as a punt returner in 2017, but his mistakes in the Wild Card playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons were costly.
He muffed twice in the first quarter, including one play where he failed to signal the punt unit to clear out, and both errors led to 10 Falcons points in a 26-13 loss. Cooper later spent much of the 2018 season on injured reserve before being released.
Smith’s muffed punt in the NFC Championship had a similar feel, and Williams getting work there suggests the Rams want another option, or at least another set of eyes on the job. Smith averaged 9.3 yards per return in 2025, which ranked 17th in the NFL, so the Rams are not exactly dealing with a hopeless situation. But they are clearly not satisfied either.
There may also be a bigger roster angle here. Williams working as a punt returner could be a sign the Rams want to keep only five wide receivers. Smith is their only true deep threat, but if the offense leans more heavily on 13 personnel and Terrance Ferguson becomes the player who stretches the field, Smith’s role on offense could shrink.
Quarterback, WR3 and cornerback have drawn plenty of attention in camp, but the punt return job is now another spot worth watching. Whether the Rams actually make a switch or simply create pressure with competition, the message is the same: last season’s special teams problems are not being ignored. In an all-in year, Los Angeles is trying to make sure the kicking game is not the thing that drags down its ceiling.
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