The Los Angeles Rams did not wait. One day after a 37-34 overtime loss to Buffalo in which their kicker missed twice, the Rams released Harrison Mevis and signed Blake Grupe off the New York Jets practice squad.
Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported the move Tuesday. It was the only defensible call available.
The Numbers Were Indefensible
Mevis finished his Rams tenure 5-of-9 on field goals in 2026. That is 55.6 percent, the worst mark in the NFL among kickers with meaningful volume.
Against the Bills he made all four extra points, then missed a 50-yarder wide left late in the first quarter and had a 48-yard game-winning attempt blocked by Greg Rousseau in overtime. Tyler Bass won it for Buffalo on the next possession.
What makes the collapse strange is how good he was a year ago. In 2025 Mevis went 12-of-13 on field goals and 39-of-39 on extra points across nine games. The Rams liked him enough to move on from Joshua Karty to keep him.
Who Blake Grupe Is
Grupe is 27, listed at 5-foot-7 and 156 pounds, and he has been better than his resume suggests. He kicked at Arkansas State from 2017 to 2021, transferred to Notre Dame for 2022, and went undrafted in 2023.
His career line across roughly 50 games: 86-of-105 on field goals for 81.9 percent, with a long of 60, and 96-of-98 on extra points. He has scored 354 career points.
The year-by-year tells the story of a kicker with one bad stretch. He went 30-of-37 as a Saints rookie in 2023 with a perfect 40-of-40 on extra points, then 27-of-31 in 2024. He slipped to 18-of-26 in 2025 and New Orleans released him in November. Indianapolis picked him up and he went 11-of-11 in five games, including a 60-yarder against Seattle that stands as the Colts franchise record.
He re-signed with Indianapolis in March, was waived at the end of August, and the Jets claimed him the next day. He spent the season on their practice squad.
Why This Is an Upgrade
Grupe’s career accuracy is 81.9 percent. Mevis was at 55.6 percent this season. Even weighting the Colts stint generously and the 2025 Saints stretch harshly, the gap is enormous.
The Rams are 2-3 with an offense averaging the kind of production that wins divisions. Monday they gained 454 yards, picked up 33 first downs and did not turn the ball over. They lost. Stafford is 38 and playing the best volume football of his career, and the roster around him is built to win now.
A team in that position cannot carry a kicker converting barely half his attempts. Los Angeles recognized that in less than a day, which is faster than most clubs move on a specialist.
What Is Left Unsaid
Terms of Grupe’s contract were not reported. Neither was whether the Rams will carry a second leg or bring in competition.
What is clear is that the Rams decided the kicking position cost them a game they had already won, and they are not going to let it cost them another.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.