Johnny Hekker has been the Rams’ punter since 2012, earning four Pro Bowl selections and being named a four-time All-Pro in that nine-year span. He’s been as steady as any punter in the NFL since coming into the league out of Oregon State, leading all players in punting yards twice, as well as yards per punt once.
He hasn’t had so much as an ounce of competition with the Rams, playing all 16 games each season since 2012. That could change this offseason, though.
The team announced on Tuesday that it has signed former Bills punter Corey Bojorquez. The terms of the contract were not disclosed, but the fact that they signed another punter at all is a bad sign for Hekker.
Hekker has three years left on his contract still, but if the Rams truly are going to make a change at punter, he could be cut and actually save Los Angeles some salary cap space. According to Over The Cap, if Hekker is released after June 1, the Rams will save $3.75 million in cap space, taking on only $1.2 million in dead money.
For a team that has been up against the cap all offseason, that’s a decent savings. Of course, finding a player of Hekker’s caliber to replace him for cheap may prove difficult. Perhaps the Rams hope Bojorquez can be that guy, though we don’t currently know what his contract looks like.
It’s worth pointing out that Hekker didn’t have a great season in 2020, either. He averaged a career-low 45.6 yards per punt and had a long of just 63 yards. He did down 28 of his 68 punts inside the 20-yard line, but five of his punts went for touchbacks – the second straight year he’s had five touchbacks after kicking only seven total touchbacks from 2016-2018.
Bojorquez is far from a top-tier punter. If he were, the Bills would’ve re-signed him, or another team would’ve scooped him up before the Rams. He led the NFL with an average of 50.8 yards per punt, which was tied for fourth-most in a single season in league history.
But he also kicked seven touchbacks, tied for most in the league last season, and only downed 18 of his 41 punts inside the 20. He has a big leg, but distance control is an area where he must improve.
It’s possible the Rams want to have a true punting competition in camp. It’s also possible they could release Hekker before then, even though that feels highly unlikely. Bojorquez, who’s a lefty, could be a way for Los Angeles to give its punt returners a different look in practice as a way to prepare for their opponents in the regular season.
There are a number of different ways this could go, but regardless of what the Rams’ plan is, they wouldn’t be signing another punter (in addition to Hekker and Brandon Wright) at this point in the offseason if they weren’t at least considering a change.
This isn’t a matter of protecting against COVID-19 protocols. That’s why Wright was signed last year. This is the Rams looking for another option at punter under new special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis.