The Buffalo Bills head into their bye week with a 5-1 record, and they beat the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5.
A big reason the Bills beat the Rams was that their kicker, Harrison Mevis, missed two field goals. One was in the first quarter, and the other came in overtime, which would have won the game for the Rams.
After the Rams lost to the Bills, they parted ways with Mevis and signed Blake Grupe, but he didn’t stay long in Los Angeles.
Grupe suffered a knee injury in the Rams’ Week 6 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, and Los Angeles placed him on injured reserve Monday.
With the Rams now in need of a kicker, they might call on a former Bill to fill the role.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Rams are working out kickers Brandon McManus and Matt Prater on Tuesday.
“The Rams are working out veteran kickers Brandon McManus and Matt Prater tomorrow, sources say. Over three decades of NFL experience combined between the two as Sean McVay & Co. look for a replacement for the injured Blake Grupe,” Garafolo wrote on X.
Prater Spent the 2025 Season With the Bills
Prater has spent 19 years in the NFL, including seven seasons with the Detroit Lions, seven with the Denver Broncos, four with the Arizona Cardinals, one with the Atlanta Falcons, and the 2025 season with the Buffalo Bills. He made the Pro Bowl twice, in 2013 and 2016, once in Denver and once in Detroit.
The 42-year-old kicker appeared in 15 games for the Bills last season, making 46 of 49 extra points and 18 of 20 field goals. Bills kicker Tyler Bass missed the 2025 season due to a pelvic/sports hernia injury.
The Rams Are off to a Slow Start
Many people favored the Rams to win the Super Bowl before the season started, but they’re currently 2-4. It doesn’t help that their star pass rusher, Myles Garrett, has missed the last five games after knee surgery he underwent a few days after their Week 1 loss to the 49ers.
Los Angeles hasn’t looked right all season, and it got worse on Sunday when it fell to an Arizona Cardinals team at home that had one win coming into the contest.
The Cardinals didn’t score a single touchdown, managing only 18 points through field goals. Los Angeles needs to figure something out quickly, as it still has to face the 49ers, who are currently 6-0, and the Seahawks twice, who are also one of the best teams in the NFL. If the Rams lose all three, they’ll have seven losses, not counting any additional losses they could take along the way.
Former Bills 2-Time Pro Bowler to Work Out With Rams After Cardinals Loss: Report