Joshua Karty is back on the Los Angeles Rams’ 53-man roster, and that move says plenty about how the team wants to handle its kicking game going forward.
According to beat writer Nate Atkins, the Rams plan to keep Karty on kickoffs, where his signature dirty ball can do the work, while Brandon McManus handles extra points and field goals. That setup showed up in Week 8, and after Sean McVay offered a noncommittal answer then about whether using both kickers made sense, the arrangement now looks less like a one-game test and more like the Rams’ actual solution.
The idea is simple enough: split the job and try to patch the problem one piece at a time.
That’s a notable turn after Karty’s rough stretch, which included back-to-back botched kickoffs against the Chargers that left them starting at their own 40-yard line. Still, his overall body of work since 2024 has shown why the Rams are willing to keep him in the mix when he’s right.
For Rams fans, the upside is that they won’t have to sweat Karty on kicks for points. Last season, he missed three extra points and went 10-for-15 on field goals before losing the job in November.
McManus has been steadier so far, even if the sample is still small. He’s 8-of-8 on extra points and has hit a 30-yard field goal.
But nobody in Los Angeles is pretending that makes him untouchable. His collapse with the Packers last year is still part of the conversation, and he has more to prove before anyone can relax.
There’s also a possible wrinkle if the Rams need a long-range attempt. McManus has never been a true deep-ball specialist outside of his 2024 stint in Green Bay. In his career, he’s made just 56.7 percent of his tries from 50 yards and beyond, and he hasn’t connected from farther than 56 yards since 2021, even though his career long is 61 yards, set in 2021.
Karty, by contrast, has shown more range. He’s 7-for-9 from 50-plus in his career, and as a rookie two years ago he drilled a 58-yarder.
McVay would obviously prefer the offense to stay on the field, and that part hasn’t changed. But if the Rams are staring at a 57-yard attempt at the end of a half or at the end of regulation, Karty may give them a better shot than McManus. For now, at least, that’s the shape of their kicking plan.
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