The Los Angeles Rams are sticking with Xavier Smith as their returner, but special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone made clear Thursday that the job has to be done better.
Via LA Daily News/Orange County Register reporter Adam Grosbard, Ventrone described Smith as “inconsistent” through the first three weeks of the season and pinpointed the fundamentals that have been missing.
“We need to do a better job of tracking the ball, judging the ball, fielding the ball,” Ventrone said.
Grosbard added that Ventrone said the Rams have given no consideration to making a change at returner. That vote of confidence matters, although the public critique places Smith’s early-season performance under a brighter spotlight as Los Angeles prepares for Week 4.
Smith Has Struggled to Flip the Field in Regular Season
The raw punt-return numbers don’t look disastrous. NFL.com lists Smith with seven punt returns for 69 yards, a 9.9-yard average, through three games. He has also returned seven kickoffs for 144 yards, averaging 20.6 yards per attempt.
The larger concern has been decision-making and field position. In the Rams’ 30-26 loss to Denver in Week 3, Smith fielded a punt at his own goal line and returned it 10 yards, leaving the offense backed up. The Rams went three-and-out, and Denver used the ensuing field position to help fuel its second-half comeback.
That sequence fit the issue Ventrone described Thursday.
Sports Illustrated’s Blaine Grisak noted that Smith has had trouble deciding which punts to field and which ones to let go. Grisak also cited PFF rankings that placed Smith 24th among 30 qualifying punt returners and 37th among 40 qualifying kick returners through three games.
The frustrating part for the Rams is that they have seen the opposite version of Smith.
During the preseason opener against the Chiefs, Smith broke a 40-yard punt return that put Los Angeles near the red zone. Sean McVay later called the play a “momentum flip,” while Smith said it reinforced what he knows he can do as a returner.
That moment appeared significant after the way the previous season ended.
Rams Continue to Back Smith After NFC Championship Miscues
Smith muffed two punts in the Rams’ NFC Championship loss last season, a performance that followed two regular seasons in which he averaged 9.3 yards per punt return.
The Rams brought him back anyway, tendering him as an exclusive rights free agent in March after he handled 27 punt returns for 251 yards in 2025.
McVay strongly supported Smith entering this season. After the preseason return against Kansas City, the Rams coach praised Smith’s response to the playoff disappointment and called him a “mentally resilient individual.”
That patience is continuing under Ventrone.
The Rams hired Ventrone during the offseason to repair a special teams operation that had become a recurring source of trouble. Smith remained part of that plan, and three iffy games haven’t prompted the coaching staff to move on from him.
Los Angeles sits at 1-2, increasing the importance of avoiding the field-position mistakes that can swing close games, as Ventrone’s comments leave not much ambiguity about what Los Angeles expects next.
Smith doesn’t need to generate a highlight return every week. The first priority is securing the football, making sound decisions and giving the offense workable field position.
The opportunity remains Smith’s. And so does the pressure.
Rams Coach Makes Decision on ‘Inconsistent’ Punt Returner Before Eagles Game