The Los Angeles Rams made a preemptive strike Wednesday, adding former kicker Joshua Karty to the practice squad as a backup plan for their troubled special teams.
A former sixth-round draft pick by the Rams in 2024 out of Stanford, Karty was eight games into his second season with the team in 2025 when he was waived.
The Rams replaced Karty with Harrison Mevis, who was the team’s kicker until he was released on Oct. 13. Los Angeles turned to Blake Grupe in Week 6, but he a season-ending knee injury knocked him out of his team debut.
Brandon McManus kicked for the Rams last week and made all five of his extra-point attempts in a 35-21 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders but did not have a field-goal attempt. Los Angeles is expected to stay with McManus as their kicker moving forward.
Karty, 24, was 29 of 34 (85.3%) on field goals as a rookie in 2024 and 32 of 36 on extra points. But he slipped to 10 of 15 (66.7%) on field goals and 23 of 26 on extra-point attempts through eight games last season before his departure.
The Rams also brought back veteran long snapper Jake McQuaide, signing him to the practice squad. McQuaide, 28, has spent 11 of his 15 NFL seasons with the Rams, going back to their days in St. Louis.
Linebacker Jon Rhattigan was also signed to the practice squad, while offensive lineman Austin Blaske, cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean and linebacker Elias Neal were cut from the practice squad.
The Rams (3-4) will play host to the Los Angeles Chargers (0-6) on Sunday.