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The decision to bring in the experienced kicker was finalized on Tuesday after the team conducted workouts with both McManus and fellow free agent Matt Prater. The Rams were forced into the market after Blake Grupe, who had only recently joined the roster, sustained a torn ACL during the team's Week 6 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Addressing a revolving door at kicker
Grupe’s injury represents the latest complication for a Rams special teams group that has struggled to find consistency. He had been brought into the fold as an immediate replacement for Harrison Mevis. Mevis’s tenure with the team was short-lived, ending after a difficult outing in a Week 5 loss where he missed a 50-yard field goal attempt and saw a 48-yard effort blocked during overtime.
McManus arrives in Los Angeles with significant NFL experience, having spent the bulk of his career with the Denver Broncos, where he played for nine seasons. He also enjoyed a one-year stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars. His most recent action came with the Green Bay Packers, where he spent time across the 2024 and 2025 seasons. During his tenure in Green Bay, he converted 44 of 51 field goal attempts, though he recorded six misses during the 2025 campaign.
Background on the veteran's recent career
The veteran kicker’s path to the Rams roster included a period of inactivity at the start of the 2024 season. During that time, he was subject to an NFL investigation regarding potential violations of the league's personal conduct policy. The situation was resolved in September 2024, when the league officially announced that McManus was not in violation of the policy. He subsequently signed with the Packers three weeks later.
With the Rams now looking to stabilize their kicking game, the arrival of a seasoned professional like McManus is expected to provide much-needed reliability. The team will be hoping that his addition can put an end to the recent string of missed opportunities and injury-related disruptions that have hampered their performance on the field.
