The Los Angeles Rams are mired in a tailspin. Billed as the consensus Super Bowl favorites entering the season, the Rams promptly lost by three scores in Melbourne to the 49ers, and have since dropped games to the Broncos and Bills, as well. On Sunday, they lost on a walk-off field goal to the lowly Cardinals, dropping them to 2-4 on the season.
If that wasn’t bad enough, newly-signed kicker Blake Grupe was lost for the season with a torn ACL during a flying tackle attempt on a kick return. Grupe was supposed to be the solution to a problem that had been plaguing the Rams since the beginning of the 2025 season, if not earlier: kicking.
But with Grupe sidelined and Rams HC Sean McVay already on his third kicker of the young season, one analyst has a bold trade pitch for Los Angeles to address this concern once and for all.
The Los Angeles Rams Could Target One of the League’s Best Kickers Before the Trade Deadline
On Thursday, ESPN NFL analyst Bill Barnwell proposed a series of trade pitches for contenders to address areas of need. For the Rams, he suggested they target Colts K Spencer Shrader, offering a 2027 fifth-round pick for one of the most reliable — and long-range — kickers in the league.
“In a crowded NFC West race, the Rams might look to throw draft capital at their kicking woes,” Barnwell wrote. Sean McVay is already on his third kicker of the season after cutting Harrison Mevis and losing Blake Grupe to injured reserve. The Rams just signed veteran Brandon McManus as a stopgap, but McManus missed three kicks in Green Bay’s wild-card-round loss to Chicago last season.”
“Does McVay really want to go down that route?” Barnwell asked. “One solution would be trying to find a long-term option. Shrader bounced around the league early in his career, but he has found a home in Indianapolis. Over his career, the 27-year-old has gone 36-of-37 on field goals and 35-for-36 on extra points, including 6-for-6 on field goals over 50-plus yards this season.”
“Playing his home games in a dome obviously helps, but Shrader is one of the league’s most accurate kickers, and he won’t be an unrestricted free agent until 2028. He is a useful player for the Colts, but he’s also not an essential piece for a team that’s rebuilding. And having dealt two first-round picks to the Jets for Sauce Gardner, Indy could use all the draft capital it can get.”
The Rams Need to Solve Their Kicking Problem
Joshua Karty, a sixth-round pick out of Stanford by the Rams in 2024, had a promising rookie season. But he was cut after eight games in 2025 after going just 10-15 on field goals and missing three extra points.
To replace him, the Rams signed UFL standout Harrison Mevis, who proved a reliable option. Mevis went 12-13 on field goals and made all 39 of his extra points after coming to Los Angeles.
But 2026 was a different story for Mevis. Five games in he was just 5-9 on field goals, some from relatively short distances, and his misses cost the Rams the Bills game. Grupe was supposed to be the solution. But now the Rams turn to McManus with Grupe out. Perhaps targeting Shrader makes a lot of sense.
Rams Get Bold Trade Pitch to Address ‘Kicking Woes’ Following Major Injury