Rams sign Mason Crosby

[Allen2McVay]

They could not change their stance on backup QB's & place kickers.

• Dragan Kesich. +110. Minnesota. SR. 6'4" 230

I love the kid out of Minnesota, big, accurate and has a huge leg.

‘Could not’ or Would not?
If ‘could not’, why not?

Understand that the Rams invested a fourth round pick on a quarterback they hoped to be a good backup but they HAD a top-PK.

They chose to not allocate $3-$4M in 2023 cap space; and $5-$6M in 2024 to place-kicker.

It was a decision.

I hope they can find a quality-PK through the Draft. That would be great … and cheap!

As for the Minnesota kid you mentioned, who wouldn’t want a Dragon for a place-kicker!

 

[CGI_Ram]

With playoffs in reach this is a good move. I would like to keep Havrisik and see if he can improve between now and next season but we need some consistency in the 1-45 yard field goal and xp range. Course I would have preferred keeping Gay but oh well.

Agree. I like the move since we are fighting for that last playoff spot.

I wonder if they keep Havrisik on the PS?

 

[Allen2McVay]

The other time McVay was unusually candid was when he said that Jared was his QB, now. That comment dropped like a bomb, in my opinion.

I see that more as ‘coach-speak’.

I was referring to more subtle comments that are often missed, with no follow up by the media.

When McVay made his comment on getting the kicking in order, I was hoping Long would follow up with a question about whether the Rams might make a change.

McVay’s comment was not in response to a question about kicking or special teams. It was not a stand alone comment. Instead, it was a tack-on comment at the end of a positive response about the overall effort of the team the previous day.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

McVay has many good “coaching” qualities in my opinion.

Ones of which is his skill speaking with the media. He comes across really well … pleasant, friendly, knowledgeable; and usually says absolutely nothing!

However, sometimes he subtly communicates his feelings, and that often leads to his intentions and actions.

One such example was his Monday McVay Show with JB Long. In an upbeat and positive discussion, he made a statement about (I am paraphrasing) ‘needing to get the kicking in order’

I also don’t think McVay is patient with place-kickers, which is one reason I continue to be surprised and disappointed the Rams didn’t retain Matt Gay.

A high-quality PK is gold, and a huge factor for a Super Bowl contender. If you’re lucky enough to have one, you got to hold onto him if at all possible … in my opinion.

I realize resigning Gay would have been costly, and the Rams were focused on opening-up cap space. However, if the Rams are going to get back into Super Bowl contention in 2024 and 2025, they will have to find a Place-Kicker like the one they had and allowed to leave in free agency.

I often speak about cap issues but I think valuable cap space sometimes needs to be allocated to PK and back-up QB.

Our biggest recent problem and McSnead attacks it.

You could also say that Snead, McVay, etc.. created the problem to begin with.

We can only guess about what the reasoning was in letting Gay walk. He may have been like Gaines and didn’t like California taxes.

Maybe the Rams really couldn’t fit Matr Gay under the cap. If they had, would they have been able to sign Akhello Witherspoon, John Johnson, and pay Kevin Dotson?

I’d love to know the answers.

 

[snackdaddy]

Crosby's a guy I thought they should have signed when they cut Maher.

 

[den-the-coach]

Agree. I like the move since we are fighting for that last playoff spot.

I wonder if they keep Havrisik on the PS?

Eventually that is what they will do, they will release Havrisik, activate Crosby to the permanent roster and after Havrisik clears waivers, sign him to the practice squad.

 

[snackdaddy]

Fucking kickers.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk70QI2lO58

 

[Classic Rams]

Just in time to kick the game-winning FG @ Baltimore.

 

[Ellard80]

I'd keep both perhaps - keep luke for the plus 50 kicks.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I just hope Crosby still has it.

 

[OldSchool]

50+ was never a strength for him but he might be an upgrade.

 

[snackdaddy]

You could also say that Snead, McVay, etc.. created the problem to begin with.

We can only guess about what the reasoning was in letting Gay walk. He may have been like Gaines and didn’t like California taxes.

Maybe the Rams really couldn’t fit Matr Gay under the cap. If they had, would they have been able to sign Akhello Witherspoon, John Johnson, and pay Kevin Dotson?

I’d love to know the answers.

Matt Gay signed a 4 year 22 million dollar deal with the Colts. I'm sure they woulda liked to keep him but that was just too much with the direction they were going this year regarding signing players.

 

[ArkyRamsFan]

I realize resigning Gay would have been costly, and the Rams were focused on opening-up cap space. However, if the Rams are going to get back into Super Bowl contention in 2024 and 2025, they will have to find a Place-Kicker like the one they had and allowed to leave in free agency.

I often speak about cap issues but I think valuable cap space sometimes needs to be allocated to PK and back-up QB.

I realize that we didn't have the dough to sign Matt Gay to a long term contract but I think we could/should have put the franchise tag on him and then sign him to a 3/4 year deal in 2024 when we'll have much more cap space.
Totally agree that we must have the kicking situation under control in order to win consistently in this league.

~ArkyRamsFan~

 

[Mister Sin]

I had to come by just to say THANK GOD!!!!

 

[dieterbrock]

Dont know why they didnt sign him back when they signed Havristink
Hopefully he can kick sunday

 

[Merlin]

Felt like this was unavoidable. I'm actually surprised he's just a PS addition. This may mean we have dibs on that free kicker now, and Havrisik gets another game to show he can do the job.

That Browns game I went from supporting Havrisik to a sense of terror when he went out there. Those short kick near-misses shook me up. Not a fan of that. But I do see the value in trying to get Havrisik going so it'll be interesting to see their play here.

 

[dieterbrock]

Felt like this was unavoidable. I'm actually surprised he's just a PS addition. This may mean we have dibs on that free kicker now, and Havrisik gets another game to show he can do the job.

That Browns game I went from supporting Havrisik to a sense of terror when he went out there. Those short kick near-misses shook me up. Not a fan of that. But I do see the value in trying to get Havrisik going so it'll be interesting to see their play here.

They can call him up day of the game from PS, which is what they had done with Maher also IIRC
McVay gave him the vote of confidence after his miss in Arizona in perfect conditions, after his abysmal performance last week indoors, there just isnt a way you can send him out there to kick in what looks to be lousy conditions in Baltimore

 

[Allen2McVay]

I realize that we didn't have the dough to sign Matt Gay to a long term contract but I think we could/should have put the franchise tag on him and then sign him to a 3/4 year deal in 2024 when we'll have much more cap space.
Totally agree that we must have the kicking situation under control in order to win consistently in this league.

~ArkyRamsFan~

They could have made it work.

According to Spotrac, the Rams currently have over $8M of cap space.
Over-the-Cap has the Rams with $4.8M of cap space.

Both cap sites have Gay's 2023 cap hit as just over $3M.

Now Gay's cap hit in 2024 goes up to $5.9M; and that's a high number for a Place-Kicker ... and, it would have reduced their 2024 off-season cap space.

I just keep thinking about Sam Ficken, Kai Forbath and Sam Sloman before the Rams hit on Matt Gay.
And then I have Nightmares.

 

[AvengerRam]

Oops! Wrong Crosby.

 

[Merlin]

They can call him up day of the game from PS, which is what they had done with Maher also IIRC
McVay gave him the vote of confidence after his miss in Arizona in perfect conditions, after his abysmal performance last week indoors, there just isnt a way you can send him out there to kick in what looks to be lousy conditions in Baltimore

Yeah they probably want Havrisik's strong leg in this next game. If Crosby was remotely comparable there he'd have the job outright most likely.