Sam Sloman is the next LA Rams kicker added to the roster

Sam Sloman gets selected as the next LA Rams kicker to replace Greg “the Leg” Zuerlein

The LA Rams lost kicker Greg Zuerlein to free agency this spring. The Rams selected Sam Sloman in round seven with a pick they got from Houston. Sloman is the only the third kicker on the Rams’ current roster, having signed two non-NFL kickers this offseason. The theme of all three kickers? Deadly accurate.

Sloman is a short but powerful kicker. He stands 5-feet-8 weighing 205 pounds. Sloman kicked for a small school, the University of Miami, Ohio. He played four seasons in Miami and improved his length in field goals.

He made 112 of 115 extra-point attempts in his college career. Sloman hit nearly 70 percent of his field-goal attempts. In fact, Lance Zierlein of nfl.com gives a glowing description of Sloman in the following words:

"Stocky with plenty of fire in his belly. Sloman is an energetic kicker with quality leg strength, but each kick looks like a lot goes into it. After going 0 for 5 from 50-plus heading into his senior year, he may have answered some questions about his ability to hit the long ball. He needs to strike the ball more consistently on kickoffs but can blast touchbacks when he’s right. He’s a likely undrafted free agent who might get a shot in camp."

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Sloman has to prove that he can consistently make kicks, but he has flashed some impressive moments of brilliance. Hopefully, the Rams will not have to depend upon his leg to win games until the team coaches him into some consistency. Every kicker drams of the chance to hit the winning field goal as time expires on the clock.

The Rams have set up some red-hot competition for Sloman. Kevin Modesti of the Orange County Register reported the following on April 13th:

"Lacking a kicker, the Rams decided to go for two. The team announced Monday it has agreed to contract terms with Lirim Hajrullahu, a Grey Cup hero in the Canadian Football League, and Austin MacGinnis, the leading field-goal kicker in the short-lived XFL."

There is a very good possibility that all three will be in training camp to compete for the kicking job. Hajrullahu is the most experienced of the three kickers. Sloman will not be handed the job because of being drafted. He will have to win the job. But you can thank the keen eye of Special Teams coordinator John Bonamego for tapping three talented kickers for the role. Even Bonamego, with his many years of coaching kickers, understands the value of options on such an important role for the team

As training camp progresses, it will be interesting which kicker wins the job. The most accurate and has the longest range and the best accuracy from that vital 40-49 yards range will win. Let’s see how it all plays out.