Tag: lucas havrisik

Browns sign K Lucas Havrisik to futures deal after spending time on practice squad

The former practice squad kicker returns.

While he was signed off of their practice squad by the Los Angeles Rams this year, kicker Lucas Havrisik returns to the Cleveland Browns on a futures deal.

Losing other practice squad players like cornerback A.J. Green III and safety Tanner McCalister to other teams, the Browns are now rounding out all of their futures deals as they enter the offseason.

Havrisik was signed to the Browns’ practice squad after final cutdowns and after former fourth rounder Cade York opted to join the Tennessee Titans instead. Eight weeks into the season, however, Havrisik was signed off of Cleveland’s practice squad by the Rams.

He kicked in nine games for the Rams this season, knocking home just 75 percent of his looks in that span. Sporadic on extra points as well, Havrisik missed three of them in his nine-week span. This forced the Browns to sign Riley Patterson after Dustin Hopkins hurt his hamstring down the stretch and could not return for the rest of the season.

Heading into camp with two kickers, the Browns will not need Hopkins to take every single rep this summer the way they needed to give York every single opportunity to get better.

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Rams’ abysmal special teams unit is one of the worst in NFL history

With yet another awful performance on special teams, the Rams’ unit now ranks as one of the worst in NFL history

It has not been a banner year for the Rams’ special teams unit. Los Angeles hired Chase Blackburn to replace Joe DeCamillis as the special teams coordinator but his first season with the Rams has been nothing short of a disaster.

From the kicking game to punt coverage to the return phase, everything has gone wrong on special teams for the Rams. It’s been so bad that the team has been forced to make a kicking change again ahead of the season finale after cutting Lucas Havrisik, who took over for Brett Maher.

The Rams have missed 11 field goals and 15 total kicks, both of which are the most in the NFL. Their 11 missed field goals are more than any team since 2015.

It’s bad bad.

Punter Ethan Evans ranks near the bottom of the NFL in net average (39.1 yards), in part because the coverage has been so bad. The Rams have allowed the second-most punt return yards (478) and they’re the only team to allow two touchdowns on punt returns. One was the Ravens’ walk-off in overtime and the other was a 94-yarder against the Giants on Sunday that nearly cost them a win.

Los Angeles is allowing 26.9 yards per kickoff return, which also ranks fourth-worst in the NFL. They haven’t allowed a touchdown on a kickoff return, but the tackling has been awful in that department.

All of this has resulted in one of the worst special teams performances in NFL history. According to Aaron Schatz, the Rams have the sixth-lowest special teams DVOA ever. It’s also three times worse than any other team this season, which is saying something.

Special teams has been costly for the Rams all season and it will need to improve with the playoffs approaching. They took a first step toward hopefully fixing the field goal operation by bringing back Maher on Monday after cutting Havrisik, but there’s no guarantee things will improve.

Sean McVay seems to be growing understandably frustrated with it all, too.

“It was tough,” he said of the Rams’ special teams Sunday. “There’s a lot of things that we have to be better at so I want to be careful to say too much until I’m really able to look at the totality of it all. I’m very engaged in the offense and defense, and some of the different things that didn’t occur today, we’ve got to do a better job there. That wasn’t good enough.”

Football is mostly about offense and defense, but special teams can lose you games.

Rams cut K Lucas Havrisik following recent misses

The Rams have cut Lucas Havrisik, who missed two PATs in Sunday’s win over the Giants

The Los Angeles Rams are making another change at kicker. The team announced on Monday that it has waived Lucas Havrisik from the active roster.

Havrisik spent the last nine games with the Rams, replacing Brett Maher as the team’s kicker. Like Maher, Havrisik struggled with his accuracy.

He made just 15 of his 20 field goal attempts, going 4-for-9 from 40-plus yards. Havrisik also missed three of his 22 PATs, including two in Sunday’s win over the Giants.

The Rams don’t have another kicker on the roster or practice squad, so they’ll need to sign someone to take Havrisik’s place before their Week 18 showdown with the 49ers.

Sean McVay admits Rams’ kicking struggles can impact his play calling

The Rams have missed more FGs than any team since 2015 and Sean McVay admits it can impact his play-calling decisions on 3rd and 4th down

No team has gone through more kicking struggles than the Los Angeles Rams this year. Between Brett Maher and Lucas Havrisik, they’ve missed 11 total field goal attempts, the most by any team in a season since 2015.

Havrisik is just 2-for-6 from 40-49 yards, which is a critical range, especially when it comes to deciding whether the offense might stay on the field on fourth down in hopes of scoring a touchdown instead of settling for three points.

That came into play for the Rams on Thursday night against the Saints. On fourth-and-2 from the Saints’ 28-yard line, McVay settled for a field goal attempt from 47 yards. Havrisik missed it wide right, which would’ve given the Rams a 13-0 lead.

Three plays after that miss, the Saints were in the end zone with a 45-yard touchdown, making it a 10-7 game. McVay admitted Friday that the Rams’ kicking struggles can impact his play calling and decisions on third and fourth down, knowing those field goal attempts aren’t automatic like the were with Greg Zuerlein and Matt Gay.

“It does. It’s something that – I was talking about it and there were some opportunities that you have to be considerate of. All right, are you operating in four down territory? Maybe different than what you had in previous situations,” he said. “So I think you have to continue to monitor the ability to execute at a high level and if not, then maybe you’re saying, hey, we’re operating with a different mode and mindset. And so those are things that we’ll definitely have to identify and especially when every single game matters so much and points are at a premium and you’d like to be able to finish these drives where you’re just hopefully kicking extra points. But it certainly is something that comes into the thought process, especially given the things that you mentioned.”

When the Rams face the Giants on New Year’s Eve, don’t be surprised if McVay is more aggressive on fourth-and-short, keeping the offense on the field instead of settling for a field goal attempt.

He indicated that a change at kicker isn’t in the cards right now, and the team is looking more at the entire kicking operation, from the snap to the hold to the kick. Havrisik’s leash shouldn’t be too long but at the very least, it seems he’ll still be the kicker next weekend in New York.

He needs a strong performance to maintain his job in Los Angeles because with the postseason approaching, the Rams can’t afford to keep missing field goal attempts.

Sean McVay explains why Rams won’t work out kickers despite Lucas Havrisik’s struggles

Lucas Havrisik has struggled lately, but Sean McVay said the Rams aren’t bringing in kickers to compete for the job

Lucas Havrisik has been the Rams’ kicker for eight weeks. In five of those games, he missed at least one field goal attempt, including Thursday’s win over the Saints.

He’s now 2-for-6 from 40-49 yards and 2-for-3 from beyond 50, raising some concerns about the Rams’ constantly struggling special teams unit. They considered making a change when they brought in Mason Crosby a few weeks ago, but they’ve since cut him and leaned on Havrisik.

Since then, Havrisik has missed two more field goals, both from 40-49 yards.

Don’t expect the Rams to bring in any competition at that spot, though. Sean McVay told reporters Friday that the team isn’t considering bringing in kickers for a workout and will instead look at the entire kicking operation before moving on from Havrisik.

He seems to be indicating the snaps and holds may not be as consistent as they need to be.

The Rams have been without long snapper Alex Ward in the last two games after he landed on injured reserve. Carson Tinker has stepped in as the long snapper and while he hasn’t had any obviously bad snaps, McVay believes that change from Ward to Tinker has had an impact on Havrisik’s struggles.

Ward will be out for at least two more weeks so the Rams have to manage until he can return, but regardless of who’s snapping the ball, Havrisik has to be better.

The Rams have missed 11 field goals this season, which is already the most by any team since 2015.

Sean McVay still optimistic about Lucas Havrisik despite missing ‘a big kick’ vs. Commanders

Sean McVay remains optimistic about Lucas Havrisik, even though his miss on Sunday was “a big kick”

One week after earning the Rams’ continued confidence with a great performance in Baltimore, Lucas Havrisik is in danger of losing it again. In Sunday’s win over the Commanders, Havrisik missed a 43-yard field goal in the fourth quarter that would’ve put the Rams up 31-7, a much more comfortable lead with less than 10 minutes to play.

He pushed the kick wide right, giving the Commanders great field position down three touchdowns. Washington found the end zone a minute and a half later, and then again with less than two minutes to play.

It may not have impacted the game in the end because the Rams still won, but Washington nearly came back and would’ve had a chance to tie it if Kyren Williams didn’t successfully milk the clock in the final minutes.

Sean McVay expressed optimism in Havrisik Monday despite another shaky outing, acknowledging it was a “big kick” that he missed.

“Obviously the one that stands out,” McVay said. “I thought because of the magnitude of that kick, especially given the circumstances where you are inside of 45, you got a chance to really go up where it’s a three-possession game there. Thirty-one points in that situation would have made it a totally different feel towards the latter part of the game. I think you want to be careful to overreact to one kick, but it was a big kick. I do know that this guy has shown the ability to respond. We saw that against Baltimore so I’m optimistic that is what we will see this Thursday.”

McVay said that while the Rams have asked Brett Maher and Havrisik to attempt a lot of long kicks this season, it’s the kicks from inside 45 yards that they must be consistent on. Havrisik has missed three of his last four attempts from 40-49 yards, which is such a critical range in close games.

The Rams don’t appear likely to make a kicking change before Thursday’s game against the Saints, so it’ll be Havrisik in the spotlight again in a contest that has massive playoff implications.

“I do know this, when you look at a lot of these really successful kickers, especially the young ones, there are some growing pains that you go through and usually you end up working through it,” McVay added. “A lot of these guys that are having a huge amount of success experience some form of adversity early on in their careers, but it is about how do you respond and that’s why there is a confidence and an optimistic approach as it relates to Lucas. I think he’s shown some good things and I just think you always evaluate your process. But the kicker position in general is a very fickle one.”

Sean McVay was happy to see Lucas Havrisik respond to adversity in loss to Ravens

Sean McVay was happy to see Lucas Havrisik bounce back with an efficient outing vs. the Ravens in Week 14.

The Los Angeles Rams signed veteran Mason Crosby ahead of the team’s showdown with the Baltimore Ravens, showing that there could be a change made at kicker with Lucas Havrisik struggling. Following an efficient performance from Havrisik in the overtime loss to the Ravens, Sean McVay was glad to see the young kicker respond well to adversity.

“I saw a guy respond the way that I would want him to from some adversity, from a challenge where you bring in a guy that’s been a veteran, has a lot of credibility and has a lot of previous production comes in,” McVay said. “I thought he just continued to handle that situation like a pro’s pro. He kicked really well throughout the week and earned the right to be up and active for us on game day and then I thought he delivered in a big way and I think that says a lot about a young guy. It’s easy when things are going well, but when you have a little bit of a challenge, how do you respond? And that’s where you really learn the most about people. And I was super pleased with him. I think that’s a true testament to the mental toughness that he has. And he came through in a big way and he definitely had a winning performance for us yesterday with what he was able to do specifically in those elements and then coming off of some of the challenges from the previous week. I was really proud of Lucas.”

Havrisik became the starting kicker for the Rams in Week 8 after the team elected to move on from Brett Maher. In his first five starts, Havrisik connected on seven of his 10 field-goal attempts and 10 of his 11 extra-point tries.

With a miss in three of his five starts and a miss on an extra-point attempt, the Rams signed Crosby to the practice squad ahead of their matchup with the Ravens. During the overtime shootout against the Ravens, Havrisik made all three of his field-goal attempts, including a 51-yarder, and both of his extra-point tries.

It was impressive to see Havrisik deliver on the road in Baltimore in rainy conditions. Ahead of a home game against the Washington Commanders in Week 15, Havrisik has seemingly earned himself at least another week to be the starting kicker for the Rams.

Rams undecided on kicker for Sunday, leaning toward Havrisik over Crosby

Sean McVay said the Rams are still deciding on who will be their kicker Sunday, but it’s likely to be Lucas Havrisik over Mason Crosby

Lucas Havrisik has struggled a bit in recent weeks, missing three total kicks (two field goals, one PAT) in his last two games. As a result, the Rams brought in veteran Mason Crosby by signing him to the practice squad this week, giving them a couple of options at a position that has suffered from some inconsistency in 2023.

Sean McVay said on Friday that the Rams aren’t sure who will be their kicker this weekend against the Ravens, but it sounds like they’re leaning toward sticking with Havrisik instead of elevating Crosby from the practice squad.

“We haven’t decided that yet. More than likely, we probably will not go that direction. But we’ll see,” he said of potentially elevating Crosby.

Havrisik has gone 7-for-10 on field goal attempts and 10-for-11 on extra point tries, with all three of his field goal misses coming from 40-plus yards. He has a strong leg, but there have been some accuracy issues lately, which are concerning with the Rams likely to play some close games down the stretch in their playoff push.

Sean McVay explains decision to sign Mason Crosby, what it means for Lucas Havrisik

Sean McVay explained why the Rams signed Mason Crosby, despite the fact that they don’t plan to cut Lucas Havrisik

The kicking carousel continues to turn in Los Angeles with the Rams bringing in yet another kicker, their fourth since the start of the offseason. They signed veteran Mason Crosby to the practice squad this week, but they still have Lucas Havrisik on the 53-man roster.

Havrisik has struggled in recent weeks, missing three kicks in his last two games, so Sean McVay was looking for outside help and a veteran presence in the special teams room. McVay explained the decision to sign Crosby during his media session Wednesday and he indicated it doesn’t mean they’re going to immediately cut Havrisik.

“It’s kind of a unique opportunity where you still end up having Lucas, feel like he’s a guy that we want to be able to continue to work with,” McVay said. “But to have a veteran that has his experience, some of the success, some of the crunch time moments that he’s had and the unique opportunity to be able to bring somebody in on the practice squad and potentially flex them up. Those are things that we felt like we wanted to be able to explore when you have 16 spots on the practice squad and so that’s what we’re doing.”

McVay said “there’s a possibility” Crosby will be activated from the practice squad as early as this Sunday against the Ravens, and he said the Rams “do not anticipate” releasing Havrisik. So for the time being, the Rams will carry two kickers between the active roster and practice squad.

Crosby hasn’t played in a game this season, but he went 25-for-29 in 17 games with the Packers last season, while also missing two extra point attempts. In just five games this season, Havrisik has missed three field goals and one PAT, including two attempts from 40-49 yards.

With Los Angeles pushing for a playoff berth, it needs to find some stability at kicker soon.

Sean McVay: ‘Way too early’ to hit panic button on K Lucas Havrisik

Sean McVay wants to see Lucas Havrisik improve, and he expects him to, but he’s not hitting the panic button yet

The Los Angeles Rams didn’t exercise much patience with Brett Maher this season, cutting him after seven games and seven total misses. There’s no doubt he was struggling, but four of his six missed field goals were from beyond 50 yards.

His replacement, Lucas Havrisik, has endured his share of kicking trouble, too. In four games, Havrisik is 5-for-7 on field goal attempts and 6-for-7 on PATs. Havrisik missed a 48-yarder in the Rams’ win over the Cardinals on Sunday, as well as an extra point, raising some questions about whether Los Angeles might consider another kicking change.

Sean McVay was asked about sticking with Havrisik during the “Coach McVay Show” on Monday and he said it’s way too early to hit the panic button. He loves what he’s seen from Havrisik thus far and expects him to bounce back.

“I think you got to be able to learn from it. I like his resolve. There is a lot of things to really like about him and what we’ve seen in a short amount of time and the confidence, the swagger. Just the overall ability where the ball jumps off his leg,” McVay said. “That’s not the sturdiest surface where you don’t always necessarily trust your plant leg in some of those situations and scenarios, but I think it’s a great learning opp. ‘Hey, man. Trust your technique. Trust your fundamentals. Let’s be as consistent as we can with our approach and our stroke as it relates to when we’re getting into those extra point or field goal attempts.’ I’m confident he can rebound the right way. I think it would be way too early to press the panic button, but we do want to see an improvement, but also an ability to be able to move on.”

The Rams were fortunate to have Greg Zuerlein and Matt Gay kicking for them for several years. They’ve been two of the best kickers in the league during the last decade, and while Havrisik has a long way to go before he’s in their class, McVay sees similarities between him and the Rams’ two former star kickers.

“There’s a legitimate, like, swag that he has and I felt that same thing from Zuerlein, I felt that same thing from Matt Gay,” he said. “You’re talking about two guys that have done it at a really high level that we were fortunate enough to have here. The more that you do this, the more you realize you don’t ever want to take for granted some of the consistency and the production at a position like that that we’ve been so fortunate to have as it relates to Greg and Matt. And I think Lucas has a chance to be in alignment with that conversation, but let’s respond the right way as we move forward into next week.”

The Rams are making a push for the postseason and they’ll need someone reliable kicking for them down the stretch. The hope is that Havrisik can be that guy, but the jury may still be out.