The Rams can’t keep giving games away on special teams and expect it to be a one-off problem.
Against the Broncos, Los Angeles jumped out to a 16-0 lead, only to watch two short fields created by punt-unit mistakes turn into touchdowns and drag the game back to even. That kind of swing is exactly why the Rams have to clean this up now, not later. Through three games, they’re 18th in special teams at Pro Football Focus and dead last in DVOA at minus-13 percent.
One move the Rams should consider is what they already did at kicker last season: bring in real competition. When Joshua Karty struggled, the team signed Harrison Mevis to the practice squad, and Mevis eventually won the job as Karty kept missing.
Mevis hasn’t been challenged from long range, but he has at least steadied the operation. The same approach makes sense with Evans.
Evans has repeatedly hurt the Rams by out-kicking his coverage or kicking away from it, and the returns keep showing up. Jack Bouwmeester was added to the practice squad before the season, but he was more of a developmental piece.
The free-agent pool isn’t exactly loaded, either. Jamie Gillan, Matt Haack and Thomas Morstead are the names available, and Gillan doesn’t inspire much confidence after ranking fourth-worst among punters by PFF last season with the second-lowest net yards per punt.
Haack, though, has a case. He finished third in average yards per punt and 10th in net yards per punt from Weeks 12-18, and PFF had him eighth at the position over that stretch.
He also had a brief run as Cleveland’s punter in 2023, which happened to be Bubba Ventrone’s first season with the Browns. At minimum, he’s the kind of veteran who could be brought in to push Evans.
The return game needs attention, too. There’s a fair argument that Smith never should have been handed punt-return duties again after his muff in last season’s NFC Championship Game.
This year, he’s averaging 9.9 yards per punt return and sits 24th among 30 qualifying returners in PFF’s rankings. The decision-making has been shaky, with Smith sometimes fielding balls he should let go and leaving others on the turf when he should be catching them.
He’s been even less effective on kick returns. Smith’s 20.6 yards per return ranks 37th out of 40 players, while the Rams are 32nd in kickoff return average and 19th in punt return average.
Whatever he offers on special teams, the offensive side of the ball isn’t helping much either; he wasn’t targeted once as a receiver against Denver. That makes his overall value awfully thin.
The Rams may need to look elsewhere, whether that’s Alex Bachman, Brennan Presley from the practice squad, or another option altogether.
Coverage issues are part of the story, but not all of it. The punter’s placement has played a role in some of the damage, and Los Angeles is 21st in average punt return yards allowed.
Even so, there’s room for improvement across the board. Grant Stuard and Joe Cardona have been two of the stronger pieces on the unit, and Shaun Dolac has also done well.
The bigger issue is roster construction. The Rams have leaned on players who can maybe help elsewhere instead of stocking special teams with specialists.
Emmanuel Forbes probably shouldn’t be on special teams, but that’s where he has to play. Tanner Ingle likely wouldn’t stick on many other rosters, yet his experience in the system makes him difficult to move off.
That’s the tradeoff showing up in real time.
In Other News...
Rams Fans Have A New Reason To Be Furious About That Late Flag
A late pass interference flag in Week 3 already left Rams fans seething, and now Pat Bryant has made the whole sequence look even worse. The Broncos receiver admitted in an interview that he exaggerated the contact on the play against Josh Wallace, a call that wiped out Wallaces interception and kept Denvers drive alive before it ended in a game-winning touchdown.
Bryants comments have only added fuel to the frustration because the play had such a direct impact on the outcome. He also played a part in the Broncos win with two catches, including a touchdown, but it is the flag he helped draw that has drawn the loudest reaction from Rams supporters and plenty of criticism online. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Already Face Doubts About A Linebacker Bet They Needed To Win
Before Week 12 of the 2025 season, Nate Landman had done enough to convince the Rams he was worth locking in. The linebacker signed a three-year, $22.5 million extension after 11 strong weeks, a move meant to give the defense some needed stability in the middle and reward a player who had quickly become part of the plan.
Since then, the return has not matched the investment. Landmans play has slipped, his Pro Football Focus grades have dropped, and the disruptive moments the Rams were counting on have become harder to find. For a team that viewed the deal as a way to secure a reliable presence at linebacker, the timing of the extension is suddenly looking a lot less comfortable than it did when the ink was still fresh. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Non-Call Revived A Debate Fans Know All Too Well
A controversial no-call on a potential pass interference play involving Josh Wallace and Broncos receiver Pat Bryant sent old memories rushing back for Rams fans, because this is the kind of moment that tends to linger long after the final whistle. The play itself sat in that gray area officials live in on Sundays, where contact, timing and interpretation all collide in real time and leave plenty of room for disagreement.
For Los Angeles, the debate was less about one snap than about a familiar frustration that has followed the franchise before, including the 2018 NFC Championship non-call that still comes up whenever a borderline decision goes against them. Pass interference remains one of the league's most subjective judgments, and this latest sequence was another reminder that two viewers can watch the same play and come away convinced of entirely different things. [Read more 🡒]