Rams are gambling on Brandon McManus being past his Packers collapse

For the sake of Los Angeles Rams fans everywhere, let's hope that kicker Brandon McManus has put his demons behind him. 

The 35-year-old, the Rams' third kicker in as many weeks, will take over for Blake Grupe, who suffered a season-ending injury doing the coverage unit's job last Sunday. McManus had been unsigned since  early May, when the Green Bay Packers released him to make way for rookie Trey Smack. 

That's the euphemistic version. The reality is that McManus cost Green Bay multiple games last season, including their first-round playoff game, with his inconsistency and flat-out incompetence.

Last season, McManus ranked 43rd out 43 kickers as measured by FanSided's Kick Value Added metric. he names directly above him? Ironically enough, LA's Joshua Karty and Grupe. 

Hopefully McManus can keep those gargoyles at bay for as long as the Rams must rely on him. 

Brandon McManus isn't dependable, but he'll have to do for the Rams

McManus did, at least, beat out an ancient Matt Prater in Tuesday's audition. If you're looking for more robust reassurance, well, there really isn't any, but McManus was highly effective in 2024, his first Packers season.

The long-time Broncos kicker made all but one of his 21 field-goal attempts and converted 30-of-30 extra points. He made a long of 55 yards and was 3-for-3 from 50-plus. 

The wheels fell off last season. To be fair, McManus was hampered by a quad injury, but his struggles started before then and continued long after his return. In fact, the struggles never stopped. 

McManus still made 80 percent of his field-goal attempts, but his 6-of-12 mark from 40-plus is approaching 2026 Harrison Mevis-levels of ineptitude.

It wasn't just the misses. It was the magnitude of the moments. He missed both field goal tries and an extra point in a Wild Card Game the Packers lost 31-27. 

2024 with the Packers was a career year, and an outlier. McManus has never been precise from long range, making only 57 percent of his attempts from beyond 50 yards. During his last two seasons in Denver, he made only 79.5 percent overall. 

Like Grupe, McManus isn't meant to be a special-teams savior. That group, and the Rams' season for that matter, may be beyond saving. Can he hold down the fort? Perhaps. With Los Angeles now dipping into the replacement-to-the-replacement tier, don't get your hopes up.

That said, McManus is about the best the Horns could hope for given the circumstances. He has NFL experience, 12 seasons of it, which is more than Mevis did coming over from the UFL last season to put out the Karty dumpster fire.

Turning this team around will take some surprises. Maybe McManus can be one. 

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