The Rams keep moving pieces around, but the special teams issues are still staring them in the face.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles cut cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean and linebacker Elias Neal from the practice squad and replaced them with veteran special teamer Jon Rhattigan. The team also asked long snapper Jake McQuaide, a former Ram, to visit.
It’s the latest attempt to patch over a phase that has been a problem through seven games. Against the Las Vegas Raiders, the coverage unit was exposed, with LA giving up multiple huge returns.
The simplest fix has been to boot the ball out of the end zone and avoid the danger altogether, but that only goes so far. The Rams keep cycling through the edges of the roster in search of someone who can help on punts without turning every return into a potential disaster.
Rhattigan brings exactly what his resume says he does. The free agent linebacker spent 2021 through 2023 with the Seattle Seahawks and has logged more than 1,200 special teams snaps across his five-year career.
In fact, he’s played far more on special teams than on defense, by a staggering factor of 63 to 1. He also adds some depth at linebacker after starter Nate Landman went down with a concussion in Week 7.
The larger question is whether this can keep being treated as a series of quick fixes. Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone has inherited plenty of the pieces he has to work with from the 2025 roster, but that explanation is starting to wear thin. With each injury, the Rams have moved in another player with special teams experience, yet the results have not changed enough to calm the alarm.
At 3-4, Los Angeles can’t afford to keep treating this as something that will sort itself out. The Rams need competent play in all three phases, and special teams is clearly part of that equation.
The offense was strong enough to survive turnovers and the coverage breakdowns against the Raiders. That won’t always be the case, and it’s hard to expect the 4-3 Seahawks, a team in the Rams’ wild card lane, to be nearly as generous. The playoff race is already taking shape, and the Rams still need NFL-caliber tacklers on punts and kickoffs.
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