Rams Sign Brandon McManus, Their Third Kicker This Season

Third kicker, third try. The Los Angeles Rams are signing veteran Brandon McManus after Blake Grupe tore his ACL in his Rams debut, making McManus the team's third kicker of the season.

The Rams worked out McManus and Matt Prater on Tuesday and chose McManus, a team official told the Los Angeles Times. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo first reported the signing, per ESPN.

How the Rams got here

Harrison Mevis was released last week after making only five of nine field goal tries this season, per the Times. In the Week 5 overtime loss to Buffalo, he missed a 50-yarder and had a 48-yarder blocked, per ESPN.

Grupe lasted one game. He hit a 44-yard field goal against Arizona on Sunday, then got hurt on the next play while knocking a Cardinals returner out of bounds. Punter Ethan Evans had to kick an extra point that put the Rams up 17-15 with less than a minute left, and Arizona kicked a field goal to win 18-16 at SoFi Stadium. Grupe is now on injured reserve.

That is two straight weeks of kicking chaos for Rams fans, and that 18-16 loss stung.

What Brandon McManus brings

McManus, 35, has made 297 of 362 field goal attempts (82%) over 12 seasons with Denver, Jacksonville and Green Bay, per the Times. He spent his first nine years with the Broncos, then went 44 of 51 over two seasons in Green Bay, including 24 of 30 in 2025. The Packers drafted kicker Trey Smack in April and released McManus after that, per Pro Football Rumors. Tuesday was his first known workout since then.

The Rams sit 31st in cap space, per Pro Football Rumors, so this was always going to be a veteran-minimum type of move.

Nobody needs McManus to be a hero. Rams fans just want the routine kicks to stay routine.

What's next for the Rams

The Rams opened as the favorite to win Super Bowl LXI and are now 2-4, per the Times. They also put Poona Ford on injured reserve with a triceps injury that ends his season. Next up is Sunday at the Raiders in Las Vegas (1:25 p.m. PT), then the Chargers at SoFi on Nov. 1.

If McManus is the guy in Vegas, kickers are a streaming spot in fantasy for a reason, but the bigger question for Rams fans is simple: can they finally win a close one?