LA Rams sign P Corey Bojorquez, Hekker faces tough competition.

The LA Rams have added a third punter to the roster in a low-profile signing. He is Corey Bojorquez, a native of Bellflower California. The 6-foot-0 208-pound punter is coming off a good season with the Buffalo Bills, where he spent the last three seasons as their punter. When his contract expired this year, he was replaced by former Miami punter Matt Haack.

The signing is a curious move. We had reported earlier in the year that the Rams trustworthy punter Johnny Hekker had the worst punting average of his nine-year career with the Rams in 2020.  And yes, we dared to cite that downturn in his production as a possible motivation for a surprise salary cap maneuver. As we cited in that article, Hekker’s average fell to 17th place among the NFL starters. And yet, he remains the most highly compensated punter in the NFL.

Oh, by the way. Guess who was the top-ranked punter in 2020?  Say hello to the LA Rams newest addition, Corey Bojorquez.

Listen, folks. I’m just the messenger here. But when a player who is paid to be the top in his position falls to the bottom half of the NFL rankings, the LA Rams have a proven track record for making moves. While the outcome is not yet determined, it is clear that this move intends to place competition at the punting role for the Rams. Who will win? Well, that is yet to be determined.

The best of the bunch

Per Pro Football Focus, their database confirms that Bojorquez was indeed the top-ranked punter in 2020, as well as the punter who boomed the longest punt in the NFL last season. This increases the number of punters on the Rams roster to three and brings the team’s overall roster to 68. The team had added punter Brandon Wright to the practice squad late in the 2020 season as an insurance policy.

Look for heated competition for the starting punter role this year. This signing is more than a safety net. The Rams need to improve dramatically on all aspects of the teams and punting suffered a huge backslide in 2020. And to be honest, the Rams special teams veterans have migrated to the Dallas Cowboys as they follow former ST coordinator John Fassel. Only Hekker remains from that group, that has watched placekicker Greg Zuerlein and long snapper Jake McQuaide sign with Dallas.

Corey Bojorquez is the best in the NFL in 2020.  He was not re-signed by the Bills as he was a restricted free agent who never received a Qualifying Tender Offer from the team. In fact, the Bills had already signed his replacement.  While terms of the deal are yet not disclosed, this could be a huge signing for the Rams. He’s too good to end up on the Rams practice squad.

Corey Bojorquez wants a starting role, and he may just get it.