The Los Angeles Rams have tapped Jake McQuaide and Joshua Karty for Week 8 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
“LA Rams Roster Moves,” the team announced in a post on their official X handle on October 31, specifying that they “Activated, from Practice Squad (Standard Elevation) K Joshua Karty, LS Jake McQuaide.”
Rams head coach Sean McVay said McQuaide would be up due to Joe Cardona’s ankle injury.
“Joe Cardona will be doubtful for the game with his ankle. So, that would mean Jake McQuaide would be up as the long snapper,” McVay told reporters on October 30.
This move would suggest the Rams do not expect Cardona will be able to suit up on Sunday, but McQuaide–a two-time Pro Bowler–was the team’s long snapper last season. He resigned this week and should have a smooth transition for punter and holder Ethan Evans.
Karty’s situation is slightly different from McQuaide’s in his second stint with the Rams.
Joshua Karty Part of ‘Experiment’ as Rams Call Up Jake McQuaide for Chargers Game
The Rams signed McQuaide last season as part of their in-seaon special teams overhaul, but Karty was a 2024 draft pick who was on the wrong side of that shuffle. He had a stint with the Arizona Cardinals. Now, he could be part of a maverick approach from the Rams.
“This time, it isn’t about changing the field goals. This is about experimenting with a two-kicker approach — McManus for field goals, and Karty for kickoffs,” The Athletic’s Nate Atkins wrote on October 30 about the “experiement,” later noting, “Last season, Karty led the NFL with an average starting field position on kickoffs of 25.5 yards. This season without him, the Rams have the league’s second-worst kickoff unit in the same metric at 34.6 yards.”
McVay noted that roster construction would be a factor in how they planned to utilize Karty.
“Part of that is just being able to figure out our 48 [players for game-day roster],” McVay said. “I got to work through some of the semantics as far as with J-Whitt [Jordan Whittington], how that affects some different things if he’s not able to go. So, there’s conversations to be had. But a lot of it is contingent upon what does it look like to fill the rest of the teams, some of the backup roles on offense and defense.”
The decision is another opportunity for Karty, but would appear to be dour for Whittington’s changes of playing against the Chargers. The Rams are already without Davante Adams.
Rams Add Two-Time Pro Bowler, Former Cardinals Specialist for Chargers Game