The LA Rams promoted Harrison Mevis over Joshua Karty in November 2025 after Karty’s string of missed and blocked kicks. Karty was cut soon after, with Mevis having won the job. Now the wheel has turned, and Mevis has found himself in a similar situation following the Week 5 game against the Buffalo Bills.
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“A kicker change for the #Rams: They’re releasing Harrison Mevis and signing Blake Grupe off the #Jets’ practice squad, sources tell me and @RapSheet. A move at the position after last night’s overtime blocked field goal,” ESPN’s Mike Garafolo wrote on X.
The Rams and the Bills faced each other during the Monday Night Football matchup, where the second-year kicker failed to capitalize on two field goal attempts.
In the first quarter, Harrison Mevis missed a 50-yard field goal attempt wide left. Then in the overtime, following a Buffalo fumble on the opening possession, the Rams drove into field goal range. But when Mevis attempted a potential game-winning 48-yard field goal, it was blocked by Bills defensive lineman Gregory Rousseau, which contributed to the Rams’ third loss of the season.
Sean McVay was visibly disappointed with the misses made in the Week 5 game against the Bills. He pointed the blame directly at the kicking unit before the team finalized the release on Tuesday morning.
“In the kicking game, especially with our PAT and field goal, not even close to good enough. It cost us the game tonight.”
At the same time, McVay also promised reporters that he was going to “evaluate everything” regarding the field-goal unit, while expressing deep self-regret for playing conservatively on third down in overtime just to settle for the kick.
“I wish I would’ve had a better play call and gone for it and gotten it a lot tighter,” McVay said. “I’m sick right now with myself and I’m so proud of that group. This is the tough part of sports but I’m proud of that team. I’m proud of the way that we battled. And I’m sick that we came up short. I’ll be regretting kicking that and not having a better call to be able to go for it on third down and go to fourth or whatever it was. It’s on me.”
Meanwhile, Harrison Mevis was signed by the LA Rams in November 2025, midway through his rookie season, to replace injured rookie placekicker Joshua Karty. He made an immediate impact by stabilizing a shaky special teams unit, where he converted 12-of-13 field goals (92.3%) in the regular season games.
Then again, Mevis was flawless under pressure, going 6-for-6 on field goals during the LA Rams’ 2025 playoff run before bowing out in the NFC Championship against the Seattle Seahawks.
As a result, the expectations were high for Mevis entering the 2026 NFL season, but his accuracy completely collapsed out of the gate. Over the first five weeks of the season, his performance became a major liability for the team, where he converted just 5-of-9 field goals, dropping to a weak 55.6% completion rate.
But now, to fill the sudden void, the Rams are also reportedly signing Blake Grupe off the New York Jets’ practice squad.
Grupe has not attempted any kicks so far in the 2026 season. However, he is a proven three-year veteran who has previously played for the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.
As for his overall record, Blake Grupe has completed 86 field goals out of 105 attempts, for a percentage of 81.9%. That said, he is expected to be in uniform and make his debut in the Week 6 game when the Rams play the Arizona Cardinals on October 18.