Is P Ethan Evans playing today? Full injury update for the Rams punter position

The LA Rams special teams were not very . . . special in 2023. While some fans were quick to call for the outright firing of ST Coordinator Chase Blackburn. While some were adamant that the root cause of special team woes lies in bad coaching, we simply couldn't see it. In fact, we saw plenty of reasons to stick with Blackburn.

So far this season, evidence suggests that sticking with Blackburn was the right move. After all, the team has finally invested in young special team specialists who can start for the team for many years to come. That is true for second-year punter Ethan Evans, whose Week 8 performance was integral in sealing a desperately needed victory.

Now, much like the jubilation-to-desperation tumble that fans experienced over the latest news about the injury to WR Puka Nacua, the fans have had to remain stoic as more heart-breaking news surfaced this week. Punter Etan Evans is down for the count with an illness in Week 9 and has been ruled out for this week's game.

What are the Rams doing about it?

While some may scoff at the team's loss of a starting punter, the impact of Evans' illness could stretch far beyong a minor inconvenience. For starters, Evans has perfected the coffin-corner punt, and that strategy of pinning opponents deep in their territory is no longer assured. Evans has handled kickoff duties as well, and that likely now falls to rookie kicker Joshua Karty.

And then there is the matter of place holding the football for the field goal attempts. With Evans out, the team will need a new holder for Karty on any and every field goal attempt.

To compensate for Evans' absence, the team signed both punter Ryan Sanborn and Ty Zentner to the practice squad. That allowed the team to execute a quick competition to determine which player would be elevated from the practice squad. And that punter is Ty Zentner:

The team will go with Ty Zentner to punt and to hold field goals in Week 9.

What went into that decision?

The Rams signed undrafted rookie punter Ryan Sanborn to the team if, for no other reason, than he has experience playing on special teams at Stanford, the alma mater of kicker Joshua Karty. As the Stanford punter, he likely had lengthy experience holding the football for Karty's field goal attempts. Sanborn trialed with several NFL teams, but did not land a roster spot in training camp.

Ty Zentner, on the other hand, has one year of NFL special teams experience, playing for both the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans in 2023. Last season, he grossed 44.9 yards per punt, while netting 40.4 yards per punt.

So it seems that while the team was willing to pair up Joshua Karty with his former Stanford teammate, Zentner gets the nod due to his NFL experience. And therefore, he is the guy the team will go with this week. Also, Ethan Evans is out due to illness. Unless we are looking at something significant like pneumonia, he hopefully will be back for Week 10.

As always, thanks for reading.

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