With Joshua Karty struggling to make even short field goals and extra points, the Los Angeles Rams are sitting on their hands no longer. They signed free agent Harrison Mevis to the practice squad on Wednesday, adding some competition on special teams in an attempt to find the best kicker possible.

Karty was drafted by the Rams in 2024 so he has the advantage of NFL experience and time spent with the Rams, but Sean McVay is leaving the competition wide open for either player to win. McVay revealed on Wednesday that Karty and Mevis will compete in practice to determine who will kick for the Rams on Sunday against the 49ers.

Additionally, the newly signed Jake McQuaide is expected to replace Alex Ward as the Rams’ long snapper.

“I think it’s important to be able to have good competition at some spots that we feel like we can have improved play to be able to evaluate all 11,” McVay said. “And so you bring Jake McQuaide in, you bring another kicker in… (Mevis) and Josh (Karty) will compete to see who’s going to kick for us this week. And if all things go well with Jake, we expect him to be our long snapper.”

Mevis has never kicked in a regular season game since going undrafted in 2024. He had stints with the Panthers and Jets in the last two offseasons but never made it to the 53-man roster. Despite his lack of experience, the Rams are giving the former Missouri standout a shot.

The Rams are putting more of an emphasis on special teams in practice this week, largely due to the struggles in the kicking game. Karty and Mevis will each have opportunities to prove themselves leading up to Sunday’s game, and the better kicker in practice will win out on game day.

This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams’ Sean McVay lays out plan at kicker for Week 10 vs. 49ers