Turf Show Times
The Los Angeles Rams have not moved on from Joshua Karty, they’ve just decided to see other people. The Rams have used kicker Harrison Mevis over the past two games and he hasn’t even had a single field goal try yet but is 9-of-9 on extra points. Karty is hitting just 88.7% of his extra points since his debut last year. Typically teams do not keep the kicker who they just demoted, but Sean McVay and Les Snead don’t like to do typical things.
In many instances of football operations this has worked to the Rams benefit, from “f them picks” to sitting everybody who is even mildly important during preseason. Will keeping Karty be the right move long-term?
It just might be.
Among the most accurate kickers in 2025 are:
How many of these kickers were released by teams too soon?
Pineiro originally signed with the Raiders, only to be traded to the Bears before his first career game. He suffered a groin injury in 2020 and was let go by Chicago, to later sign with the Colts and Commanders in 2021 but never play those teams, until eventually getting five games with the Jets that season. Then the Jets release Pineiro in 2022 and he spent three seasons with the Carolina Panthers, the first real home of his career. Pineiro again had no team until finally the 49ers signed him to replace Jake Moody after the season already started.
Pineiro has missed four extra points this season but is 22-of-22 on field goals, including 6-of-6 from 50+.
Folk is a veteran who has had a career like many other kickers. Drafted by the Cowboys in the sixth round of the 2007 draft (Karty was also a sixth round pick), Folk spent three years in Dallas. The Cowboys lost faith in Folk in his third season and benched/released him. He popped up with the Jets in 2010 and spent eight seasons there as one of the top kickers in the NFL.
Here he is now in his 18th season, 15 years after the Cowboys gave up on him, and back with the Jets as a 19-for-19 kicker (5-of-5 from deep) and perfect 14-of-14 on extra points. Folk is on a crazy streak of making 69 of his last 71 field goal tries and leading the NFL in FG% for three straight years.
Maybe the Rams are looking at Folk and looking at Karty and telling themselves that it’s too soon to just release kickers when they struggle in the beginning of their careers. Would you do that with any other position?
Spencer Shrader signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2024, was waived, signed to the practice squad, then released. He also found himself on the Jets. Then he went to the Chiefs and ended up kicking for...
