LA Rams secure the 2024 kicker role with this familiar player. Or did they?

The LA Rams struggled with special teams performances in 2023. But before we are lumped into the outcries of websites and fans who want the LA Rams to fire ST Coordinator Chase Blackburn, we want to stop for a moment and consider the LA Rams season as a whole. For starters, LA Rams placekicker Brett Maher was perfect in the 2024 NFL Playoffs, But the guy was not very dependable throughout the 2023 NFL season, which led to the Rams cutting him midway through the season.

The truth of the matter is that the Rams had parted ways with a number of kickers who played for them in the past. And many of those past kickers continued to attempt and make, field goals throughout the 2023 NFL season. Who are they? Well, in reverse order:

1. Brett Maher (X2) - 73.9 FG% | Over 40+ 62.5 FG% | 86.7 XPT%
2. Lucas Havrisik - 75.0 FG% | Over 40+ 44.4 FG% | 86.4 XPT%
3. Tanner Brown (Preseason) - 50.0 FG% | Over 40+ 0.0 FG% | 100.0 XPT%
4. Christopher Dunn - N/A
5. Matt Gay - 80.5 FG% | Over 40+ 68.2 FG% | 97.2 XPT%
6. Cameron Dicker - 93.9 FG% | Over 40+ 88.9 FG% | 100.0 XPT%
7. Greg Zuerlein - 92.1 FG% | Over 40+ 90.0 FG% | 93.8 XPT%

As you can see by the chart above, the LA Rams had parted ways with kickers in the past who had rather impressive 2023 NFL seasons. Of course, Cameron Dicker was not given a bona fide shot at the placekicking duties for the Rams in 2023. He was brought in to compete for the punter role, a role that he ultimately lost out to P Riley Dixon. But the Rams knew that he was a solid kicker at the time, and had an option to retain him.

And didn't.

But I am not prone to throw stones at any NFL team over kicker problems. It's such a hit and miss role for an NFL team, and if you examine the list above, every veteran kicker on the list had games in which the kicker was flawless. And the same list includes the names of veteran kickers who were completely flawed.

In the modern era of the NFL, patience is in short supply. One bad game for a kicker often equates to the team giving that player notice that they will be parting ways and going in a different direction. But as the LA Rams learned in 2023, the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence.

Kickers around the NFL had varying levels of success

Perhaps it's that bittersweet experience of parting with kickers too soon that compelled the LA Rams to give rookie kicker Tanner Brown a second look for the 2024 NFL season. After all, they had remarkable success with kicker Matt Gay in 2020 through 2022, who was himself released after his rookie season by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In the context of NFL kicker track records, perhaps the LA Rams know what they are doing.

Let's pause and consider the Rams options at the end of the 2022 NFL season. The Rams had a chance to match the offer by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2023 NFL offseason. Some Rams fans still believe that the Rams front office should have. But did the Colts truly get the NFL's best kicker? After all, they paid the highest kicker salary to date, so did it work out for them?

In my opinion, no. In 2023, Matt Gay was successful on just 80.5 percent of his field goal attempts. On attempts of 40 yards or greater distance, Gay was only good 68.2 percent of the time. I don't regret the Rams decision not to make Matt Gay the highest paid kicker in the NFL.

Even the San Francisco 49ers, a team whose roster was so well-rounded out that they drafted rookie kicker Jake Moody with the 99th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, have every reason to experience buyer's remorse this past season. In terms of kicker accuracy, Moody was successful on just 84.0 percent of his field goal attempts, which was no better than 21st place in the NFL kicker rankings.

But what about his long-distance accuracy? At a range of 40 or more yards, Moody made just six of nine kicks, which works out to just 66.7 percent of his kicks made. But the real statistic is the fact that in 17 games, Moody was asked to attempt a field goal of 40+ yards just nine times. Clearly the 49ers do not trust him to make those long kicks either.

Tanner Brown: The Sequel?

Whatever else you may think, feel, or conclude about the LA Rams' willingness to re-sign kicker Tanner Brown to a Reserve/Future contract, one thing is now certain. The LA Rams are not forced into a situation where they must draft a kicker in the 2024 NFL Draft. That rates him as the 29th-ranked kicker in the NFL. While that is still better than either Havrisik or Maher, it's not better by much.

Tanner Brown arrived to the Rams roster with plenty of reasons to believe that he would succeed in the NFL.

The LA Rams opted to part ways with rookie kicker Tanner Brown after mixed results in training camp. Yahoo Sports writer Skyler Carlin quoted Rams ST Coordinator Chase Blackburn after the Rams opted for Brett Mather over Brown, an interview that takes on new meaning right now:

"Yeah, at the end of the day we had three rookies, love to get a veteran in here. Not only for the ability, he’s been through it, done it, seen it, had those playoff opportunities, had different opportunities, and seen what it’s like to be in big game environments. And so for him to come in here and give us something, especially after we got to see him for a couple days and see how well he was kicking the ball there in Denver was a big deal. And obviously, Tanner missed again in the preseason and that’s the unfortunate part about kicking is it’s about kind of a what have you done for me lately-type deal. And that’s one of the positions where you only get so many attempts or so many looks at it, especially in the preseason where we move from four games to three games now, right? So you get limited reps and limited looks in actual game activity and it’s about producing when those lights come on."

Rams ST Coordinator Chase Blackburn

The LA Rams' willingness to bring Tanner Brown back for 2024 may seem curious to some, intriguing to others, and simply a foolish move by the rest of the fans. But I encourage you to listen and view this postgame media event with ST Coordinator Chase Blackburn after the Rams' first preseason loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. You can see the entire 5:19 media Q&A by clicking THIS LINK HERE.

Blackburn talked about how Tanner Brown was flawless in training camp, and how he was kicking through the uprights at a distance of 65 yards. Was it just coachspeak? I don't think so. Blackburn talked about Tanner Brown's leg strength, hitting 50-yard field goals routinely in training camp, and even kicking one from a distance of 65 yards.

I'm willing to keep an open mind, and I hope that you are too. While the Rams want to lock down the kicker position to a point where it is no longer a quandary, I believe that the Rams coaching staff is not chasing a wild goose with this signing. Drafting a new rookie for 2024 comes with its own set of risks and challenges. Even signing a veteran, which is a more expensive proposition, is no guarantee that the Rams will get it right.

Tanner Brown may not be the best option for the Rams in 2024, but he could prove to be a good option. And with Brown on the roster, the pressure is off the team's front office to address a minor, but vital, role for Rams roster in 2024.