Rams Kicker Blake Grupe Tears ACL Making a Tackle in His Debut

The Los Angeles Rams' kicking carousel just took the most brutal and absurd spin imaginable. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, newly signed kicker Blake Grupe tore his ACL.

The injury leaves the Rams completely stranded on special teams. Grupe was supposed to be the immediate answer to their kicking woes, but instead, his season is over before he even had time to unpack his bags in Los Angeles.

"Adam Schefter reported the ACL tear."

The timeline here is a masterclass in terrible luck. The Rams signed Grupe off the New York Jets practice squad on October 14, officially cutting the larger-than-life Harrison Mevis to make room. Four days later, Grupe was on the field for his debut against the Arizona Cardinals.

Then came the kickoff. Grupe decided to throw his 156-pound frame into a tackle on a return, which is the football equivalent of bringing a water balloon to a knife fight. He went into the blue medical tent, headed to the locker room, and left the Rams holding the bag in an 18-16 loss to Arizona.

This is a nightmare scenario for anyone holding Rams tickets or betting their team totals. You simply cannot handicap a team that has to scour the waiver wire for a kicker on a Tuesday because their last one decided to play middle linebacker on a Sunday.

Now Sean McVay has to go back to the drawing board. The Rams will be hosting kicker tryouts this week, and whoever gets the job should probably sign a contract clause strictly forbidding them from making contact with another human being.