Los Angeles Rams Reach New Deal With Kicker Greg Zuerlein

The Los Angeles Rams have agreed to a new three-year deal with kicker Greg Zuerlein to keep him around through the 2019 season.

One of the biggest questions for the Los Angeles Rams heading into free agency was whether they should bring back Greg Zuerlein or test the market to see what effective kickers were out there. Turns out, the Rams are willing to give Zuerlein another shot to prove he’s the best option for the team at kicker, but whether this was the right move remains to be seen.

Related Story: DeMarcus Ware Met With Rams

According to Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times, Zuerlein and the team agreed to a three-year deal on Tuesday after bouncing back with a decent season in 2016. At this time last offseason, there were plenty of concerns surrounding Zuerlein’s future with the team after only converting 20 of 30 field goals in 2015, which was one of the reasons why the Rams were willing to bring Taylor Bertolet on board for some competition.

Lucky for Los Angeles, Zuerlein was one of the lone highlights of the Rams’ offense (who only averaged 14 points per game) during the 2016 season after converting 19 of 22 field goals, but that doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to last the next three years. If anything, there’s even more pressure on Zuerlein heading into next year to prove 2016 wasn’t just a fluke, and his kicking struggles are no longer an issue.

Next: NFL Power Rankings: Rams Free Agency Edition

Unfortunately for Zuerlein, the kicker set the bar high for himself early on his career after drilling seven of 13 field goals from 50+ yards as a rookie before following that up with a successful sophomore season in 2013 after only missing two field goals (26 of 28). With this new deal, here’s to hoping Zuerlein’s confidence will be taken to a new level, and Los Angeles’ offense will show enough improvement under Sean McVay to provide more kicking opportunities in 2017.