Rookie Wins Heated Rams Position Battle After Surprise Cut

The Los Angeles Rams quietly had a kicking competition happening between rookie Joshua Karty and Tanner Brown in training camp. 

The Rams’ competition wasn’t widely discussed in the offseason, unlike other teams across the league (Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots). But it was something that head coach Sean McVay wanted to figure out before Week 1 of the regular season.

The Rams officially made their decision on Tuesday night about who will be the team’s starting kicker as they waived Brown. According to Jordan Rodrigue of The Athletic, Karty made a statement in LA’s preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys, going 2-for-2 on field goals and making the game-winning extra-point. She also said that he was the most consistent kicker in training camp.

The Rams drafted Karty in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Stanford. At Stanford, Karty converted 98.6 percent of his extra points and 85 percent of his field goals. Last season, he was a perfect 21-for-21 on extra points (100%), but 23-of-27 on field goals (85.2%).

Even though Karty missed four field goals, he set a career-high with field goals made and attempted.

As for Brown, the Rams brought him back earlier this year on a futures deal after he was cut by the team last preseason. Los Angeles signed the former Oklahoma State kicker as an undrafted free agent after the 2023 NFL Draft.

With Brown out of the picture, it will be interesting to see if Karty can carry this momentum into the final two preseason games and the regular season. Last season in the NFL, we saw rookie kickers struggle immensely and Karty will try to not fall into the same trap.

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