Tag: Mason Crosby

Giants place Evan Neal on season-ending IR, activate Matt Peart

The New York Giants have placed RT Evan Neal on injured reserve, activated OL Matt Peart from IR and elevated two from the practice squad.

The disappointing second season for New York Giants right tackle Evan Neal has officially come to an end.

The Giants announced on Sunday that Neal has been placed on injured reserve (IR) as the result of a sprained ankle that has kept him out in recent weeks.

Neal ends the season having appeared in just seven games (all starts) while compiling a Pro Football Focus grade of 39.8, which is dead last among all qualifying tackles.

Replacing Neal on the 53-man roster is offensive lineman Matt Peart, who was officially activated from IR just days after he was designated to return.

A third-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, Peart will now fill the role of backup to Tyre Phillips, who has taken over as the team’s starter in place of Neal.

The Giants have also elevated kicker Mason Crosby and linebacker Tomon Fox from the practice squad. It is the first elevation for both players.

Crosby was signed earlier this week to replace Cade York, who landed on IR with a quad injury. He was slated to fill in for Randy Bullock, who had replaced Graham Gano, each of whom are also on IR.

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Giants place Cade York on IR, sign Mason Crosby

The New York Giants have placed kicker Cade York (quad) on injured reserve (IR) and signed veteran kicker Mason Crosby.

The New York Giants were expected to turn to Cade York as their starting kicker after Randy Bullock was placed on season-ending injured reserve (IR) earlier this week, but that’s not going to happen.

On Friday, York was also placed on IR with a quad injury, becoming the third Giants kicker lost for the season (Bullock, Graham Gano).

“It’s a lot,” special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey said on Wednesday prior to York’s injury. “But I told you this early in the season, I said you don’t want to get on the kicker train, because the destination is unknown. Because you don’t know. Once that train gets rolling, you never know where it’s going to end. But it is what it is, we’ll make the adjustments, we won’t make any excuses, just keep it moving.”

With no kickers remaining in tow, the Giants were forced to go out and sign one.

10 days after he was released by the Los Angeles Rams, the Giants have added a familiar foe in veteran Mason Crosby.

The 39-year-old Crosby, who was the NFL’s leading scorer as a rookie, was a sixth-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in the 2007 NFL draft. He spent his entire career with the organization prior to the aforementioned stint with the Rams.

In 258 career games, Crosby has connected on 395 of his 485 field goal attempts (81.4%) and 733 of his 753 point-after attempts (97.3).

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Rams release Mason Crosby, make 3 other roster moves

The Rams released Mason Crosby, a show of confidence in Lucas Havrisik. They also placed 2 players on IR and signed a long snapper.

The Los Angeles Rams brought in Mason Crosby a week ago in order to create some competition at kicker, but his time with the team was short-lived. The Rams announced on Tuesday that Crosby has been released from the practice squad.

Lucas Havrisik made three field goals and two extra-point attempts in Sunday’s loss to the Ravens, which Sean McVay was encouraged by. It seems the Rams will stick with him for at least another week with Crosby now out of the picture.

Additionally, the Rams made a few other roster moves. They placed Hunter Long on injured reserve with an MCL injury, which will require surgery. Long snapper Alex Ward was also placed on IR due to a stinger suffered Sunday, so the Rams brought in Carson Tinker to replace him for at least the next four weeks.

The Rams’ special teams unit has struggled all season, and it’s not going to help that they’re forced to make a change at long snapper with Ward injured. Tinker was previously with the Rams late in the 2021 season, spending the end of that season on the practice squad.

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 activate Mason Crosby from practice squad

The Rams have activated Mason Crosby from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Ravens

Sean McVay indicated on Friday that it was unlikely the Los Angeles Rams would activate kicker Mason Crosby from the practice squad before Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, leaning toward going with Lucas Havrisik for another week.

It turns out, the Rams are at least keeping open the possibility of using Crosby for this weekend’s game. The team announced Saturday that Crosby has been activated from the practice squad, making him eligible to play against Baltimore.

The Rams just signed Crosby this week after Havrisik missed another field goal attempt in the win over the Browns, his third missed kick in the last two games.

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.

Former Packers K Mason Crosby signing with Rams practice squad

Former Packers K Mason Crosby is headed to Los Angeles to join the Rams practice squad.

Former Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby is back in the NFL and will have a chance to kick for a playoff contender over the final five weeks of the 2023 season. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, Crosby is signing to the practice squad of the Los Angeles Rams. Per Garafolo, the plan is for Crosby to be moved to the Rams active roster at some point in the near future.

Crosby, who turned 39 years old in September, spent his first 16 NFL seasons with the Packers (2007-22). He won a Super Bowl with the franchise and is the team’s all-time leader in most major kicking categories, including points and field goals made. He wasn’t re-signed as a free agent following the 2022 season, and the Packers selected Anders Carlson in the sixth round of the 2023 draft.

Crosby was part of a group of kickers that worked out for the Rams earlier this season.

The Rams, who are 6-6 and competing with the Packers for a playoff spot, have Lucas Havrisik — a first-year player out of Arizona — as the only kicker on the roster. He’s missed a field goal in back-to-back games and three of the last four. Overall, Havrisik is 7-of-10 on field goals and 10-of-11 on extra points this season.

Crosby could give the Rams more reliability at a key special teams position down the stretch in 2023.

Rams are signing K Mason Crosby to the practice squad

With Lucas Havrisik struggling, the Rams are bringing in Mason Crosby to potentially take over the kicking job

The Los Angeles Rams could be onto their third kicker of the season relatively soon. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the Rams are signing veteran Mason Crosby to the practice squad.

The plan is for Crosby to be elevated to the active roster “in the near future,” a sign that he could take over the job from Lucas Havrisik.

Havrisik missed another field goal on Sunday in the Rams’ win over the Browns after missing a field goal and extra point the week prior in Arizona. He’s now 7-for-10 on field goal attempts and 10-for-11 on PATs this year, his first time playing in the regular season.

The Rams began the year with Brett Maher as their kicker, but he was cut after seven misses in seven games. Havrisik was then brought in to replace him, but it’s looking like Crosby will be the next man up as the Rams push for a playoff berth in the NFC.

Saints to sign kicker Austin Seibert to their practice squad after tryout

The Saints are signing kicker Austin Seibert to their practice squad after a successful tryout on Tuesday:

Here’s the fallout from Tuesday’s group workout: NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported that the Saints are expected to sign kicker Austin Seibert to their practice squad. The Times-Picayune | Advocate’s Matthew Paras confirmed news of Seibert’s signing.

This comes after Seibert auditioned alongside other veteran specialists including longtime Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby. The Saints were already short a player on their 16-man practice squad after Jason Pierre-Paul left town for a better opportunity with the Miami Dolphins, so they won’t need to let anyone go to make room for him.

Seibert, 27, was a fifth-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2019 NFL draft out of Oklahoma. He’s spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and New York Jets in the time since, and he’s made 45 of his 56 field goal tries (80.4%) in his NFL career. He’s also hit 56 of 62 extra point attempts (90.3%).

Blake Grupe is dealing with a minor groin injury, so it’s smart to add a backup in case he’s unable to go for this Sunday’s game with the Detroit Lions. Stay tuned.

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