LA Rams: Punter position goes from ‘No competition’ to ‘No decision’

The LA Rams say a lot of things to an open microphone.  Over the course of time, you just have to know what is being said honestly, and what is being said to the public to assuage concerns.  If you had listened to any of the rhetoric dolled out by the organization over the history of either running back Todd Gurley or quarterback Jared Goff, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

The LA Rams‘ own head coach Sean McVay ended the 2020 NFL season by pledging to infuse competition at all positions, even at quarterback. At the time, some discounted McVay’s statement out of passion and frustration at losing in the playoffs.  Others rationalized that the statement was a roundabout way of putting quarterback Jared Goff on notice that he was in hot water.

There was a lot of interpretation over the Rams head coach’s comments, but that all faded away as soon as the LA Rams traded for Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. But there was more to the story, and we dove directly into it.  In fact, as soon as the LA Rams signed punter Corey Bojorquez, we were talking about the mixed signals coming from the LA Rams organization in both word and deed.

From that moment, many concluded that Corey Bojorquez was added to be a camp body and perhaps an emergency punter in case the Rams needed one for the 2021 NFL season. That seemed to quiet the questions, squelch the interest, and temper the potential competition unfolding in the upcoming training camp.

That’s not really how this is all playing out.

Punter passion

The LA Rams special teams in 2017 and 2018 were some of the best in the NFL. At the time, the Rams had the benefit of ST Coordinator John Fassel, LS Jake McQuaide, PK Greg Zuerlein, and of course, P Johnny Hekker. Since that time Fassel, McQuaide, and Zuerlein have since signed on with the Dallas Cowboys. And to be honest, I’ve no doubt that there is an immediate place on the Dallas Cowboys roster for Johnny Hekker if and when he should want to relocate to a new team.

Los Angeles Rams

Is that an event that will happen sooner or later?

If the Rams are truly committed to revitalizing their special teams’ performance, then the team must take a stand as rigidly as they did over the play at quarterback. Over the years, the entire spectrum of special teams production has fallen, to the point where the 2020 play was ranked among the bottom half of the NFL.

I get it. Fans love the flamboyant personality of Johnny Hekker. He makes people laugh. He makes people cheer. He’s been with the team since 2012, staying with the team through all of the lean years and throughout the move from Saint Louis to Los Angeles. In many ways, he is the heart of the team, the player who seems to rally fans no matter what the outlook of the team.  And the LA Rams have rewarded his play by making him the highest-paid punter in the NFL. Not just by 99 cents, but by a large margin.

And that’s where it gets tricky. The LA Rams organization has spent a lot of money to reward elite players. But folks, like it or now, Johnny Hekker is no longer an elite NFL punter. He had good games at coffin kicking the football and pinning the opposing team inside their 20-yard line. But that occurred during the time where the Rams would not attempt a long field goal due to the limitations of placekicker Sam Sloman.

“Competition at all positions”

If you know the LA Rams front office, they are every watchful, ever vigilant. And so, the LA Rams vigilance pays off occasionally, as it did with the availability of punter Corey Bojorquez.  Now, Bojorquez was not just some punter looking for work, he was the best punter in the NFL in 2020, and he was suddenly available. Well, until the LA Rams scooped him up.

Now, many saw Bojorquez as a potential practice squad punter. But that is someone you sign out of college. Bojorquez had already proven himself to be the best in the NFL in 2020 with the Buffalo Bills. That is not the resume of someone the front office adds to assign to the practice squad.

Here was our take before training camp began.

"“Still, Jared Goff is gone because good enough is no longer good enough at quarterback. Austin Blythe is gone because good enough is no longer good enough at the offensive center. Michael Brockers is gone because good enough is no longer good enough at defensive lineman. Johnny Hekker was ranked 21st out of 32 punters in the NFL in 2020. Is that good enough for the LA Rams? Good enough wasn’t good enough for three other veterans who were very loyal to the team. This could be a very intriguing developing story throughout this training camp.” – as per LA Rams: Will there or won’t there be competition for starting punter? after the Corey Bojorquez signing"

It’s becoming pretty obvious that Corey Bojorquez was not added as insurance, but rather as suspected, to directly compete for the starting punter position. While we don’t have the day-to-day analysis and progress charts from training camp, in the one preseason game with both punters playing, Bojorquez seemed to have a better punt for height and for the coverage unit.

“No decision”

There is a lot riding on the LA Rams decision now. Regardless of which punter the team selects, the other will not clear waivers and end up on the practice squad. While the Rams have long since benefitted from the performance of Johnny Hekker, the fact is that there are valid reasons why they remain uncommitted at this point.

Corey Bojorquez is younger. Corey Bojorquez is vastly cheaper. And Corey Bojorquez is at least as good if not better than Johnny Hekker at this stage of both players’ careers. How much cheaper? The LA Rams can offset the cost of running back Sony Michel by parting ways with Johnny Hekker. That’s how much cheaper.

So have the Rams truly reached a decision?  Well, this is what they’ve said:

Now keep in mind that the Dallas Cowboys would jump at the chance to get Johnny Hekker on their roster. And they might be willing to do so via trade if they do not like their chances of claiming him via the waiver wire. Of course, the same could be said about the likelihood to trade Corey Bojorquez if the Rams have opted to stick with Hekker.

It serves no one for the LA Rams to announce who has won their punting competition, but it does appear to be quite intriguing to discover that the LA Rams have held a punting competition in the first place, and vehemently denying that any competition even existed when the team signed Bojorquez.

We’ll know soon enough. But the fact that it’s going down to the wire only benefits the chances of Corey Bojorquez. As far as all that denial?

Well…”The lady doth protest too much, methinks” – Willam Shakespeare