Field-goal kicking has been a chronic issue for the Los Angeles Rams during the 2023 season, so they signed one of the NFL’s most reliable kickers of the past decade.
The Rams added veteran Mason Crosby, the Green Bay Packers kicker for 16 seasons, to their practice squad Wednesday in hopes of elevating him at some point to the active roster.
If activated, Mason Crosby, 39, would be the third Rams kicker this season. In October, the Rams signed Lucas Havrisik off the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad shortly after releasing Brett Maher, who missed field-goal tries from 53 and 51 yards in addition to an extra point in a 24-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Maher, who’d spent three of his four previous seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, connected on 73.9 of his FG attempts, but he was only 10-of-16 from 40 yards and beyond. He signed with the Rams in the offseason after the previous kicker, Matt Gay, landed a four-year, $22.5 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts.
Havrisik, though, hasn’t been much better. He’s made 7-of-10 FG tries to rank 33rd out of 36 kickers and has been successful on only three of six attempts beyond 40 yards. His latest miss came on a 43-yarder in Sunday’s 36-19 victory over the Cleveland Browns.
Unfortunately for Havrisik, he’s given the Rams plenty of reason to potentially go with Mason Crosby in the very near future.
Mason Crosby gives Los Angeles Rams experience
The 39-year-old Crosby, who won a Super Bowl with the Packers in 2011, was released after last season, when he ranked 19th overall with an 86.2 percent success rate on field-goal attempts. He and quarterback Aaron Rodgers had been the last remaining holdovers from the Super Bowl team.
Although 2022 was considered a rebound season for Mason Crosby, only 20.3 percent of his kickoffs resulted in touchbacks, his lowest percentage since 2010.
The Packers ended up drafting Anders Carlson in the sixth round out of Auburn to be their kicker, and the rookie has struggled, making 81 percent of his FG attempts and missing three PATs.
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The Los Angeles Rams (3-3) are among the hottest teams in the NFL, riding a three-game winning streak into Sunday’s matchup against the Baltimore Ravens (9-3), who are coming off a bye week.
The Rams could use a kicker with Crosby’s experience and past consistency, especially if they hope to make a serious playoff push over the final five games. Getting a second chance with the Rams, perhaps Crosby could return to being the kicker who nailed 100 percent of his FG attempts only three seasons ago in Green Bay.