Former Stanford Cardinal lands starting spot on the Los Angeles Rams

Dylan Grausz | Aug 20, 2024

Aug 11, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams place kicker Joshua Karty (16) kicks the ball against the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports / Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports

Last season, the Los Angeles Rams found themselves in limbo at the kicker position, struggling to find a consistent leg to put the ball through the uprights. Entering this season, the Rams made it a priority to address that spot, selecting former Stanford standout kicker Joshua Karty with the 209th overall pick in the sixth round of this year’s NFL Draft. Entering training camp, there was little doubt as to whether or not Karty would be the team’s main kicker, with only former undrafted free agent Tanner Brown as the other kicker. But now with Brown released and Karty having put together two strong preseason games, it appears that Karty has won the competition.

Since Super Bowl-winning kicker Matt Gay left for the Indianapolis Colts prior to the start of last season, the Rams have gone through kickers more than they would have liked, originally signing former Packer Mason Crosby but after he got cut at the end of preseason, the team was forced to turn to Brett Maher, who started the regular season as the kicker.

However, a three-miss game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in week seven forced the Rams to release him and turn to rookie Lucas Havrisik. However, Havrisik also struggled, causing the team to go back to Maher for the rest of the season. Despite the team finishing 10-7 and clinching a spot in the playoffs before losing to the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card round, it was clear that finding a consistent kicker was a must.

Fast forward to now, and Karty so far has been everything that the team has hoped for and more. In his debut preseason game, Karty went 2-for-2 with a long of 39 and kicked the game-winning field goal to beat the Cowboys 13-12. In the team’s 13-9 win over the Chargers, Karty went 2-for-3 on field goals, making a 43 and a 48 yarder but missing a 52 yarder. While he did miss his first kick, he also managed to boot the two other kicks which proved to be crucial while also converting both of his extra points. Of the team’s 13 points scored, Karty scored seven of them and led the team in scoring for the game as well.

Kickers are one of those positions where unless you are a guy like Justin Tucker or a Sebastian Janikowski, it is hard to keep the starting job long term if you struggle. But so far, Karty has shown that he has the potential to be the guy that the team has been looking for. While the team did have Gay from 2020-2022 and had him during the team’s 2021 Super Bowl winning season, looking for a long-term kicker is nothing new for the Rams, who also had a similar situation back in 2020 when they originally started the year with Sam Sloman before his struggles caused them to turn to Kai Forbath for a bit before ultimately going with Gay.

Karty got through step one in winning the starting kicker job for week one but now the real test comes; keeping it. While he has never played in an official NFL game, Karty’s preseason so far has instilled a sense of hope and confidence that the Rams finally found a guy who they can rely on for three points and who can be their version of Tucker or Janikowski.