HEADLINES

Sam Ficken

NFL Workout Updates: 10/26/18

October 26th, 2018 at 9:47pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Here are today’s reported tryouts:

Denver Broncos

  • P Brock Miller

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Saints have had some injuries on the defensive line recently, so it makes sense why they’d bring in this group. With this large of an amount of players brought in, they will likely be signing someone soon. The Buccaneers are clearly evaluating their kicking options after Chandler Catanzaro has struggled to start the year. He made a game-winning 59-yard field goal in overtime last week, but missed an extra point and a 40-yarder at the end of regulation before that. Both Ficken and Santos have kicked for the Rams this season.

Rams To Release K Sam Ficken

October 2nd, 2018 at 2:28pm CST by Zachary Links

The Rams are releasing kicker Sam Ficken and intend to sign another veteran to kick until Greg Zuerlein is recovered from his groin injury, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The kicker auditions will include veterans Cairo Santos and Kai Forbath, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.

Ficken, 25, took over for an injured Zuerlein at the tail end of the 2017 regular season and called upon to do the same thing this year. Unfortunately, he’s struggled in his two games, making just one of three field goal tries. The Rams are 4-0, but missed field goals could obviously cost them down the line.

Santos has historically been a solid kicker, but he’s dealt with a nagging groin injury for more than a year. Forbath, meanwhile, was released by the Vikings in August losing out to rookie Daniel Carlson. In 2017, Forbath converted 32-of-38 field goal attempts (including six-of-nine from 50+ yards), and his 84.2 accuracy percentage ranked 16th in the NFL.

Rams To Sign K Sam Ficken

September 17th, 2018 at 9:36am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Rams are expected to sign kicker Sam Ficken to fill in for Greg Zuerlein, who injured his groin during warmups on Sunday, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Ficken, 25, is quite familiar with Los Angeles, as he took over for an injured Zuerlein at the tail end of the 2017 regular season and into the playoffs. He converted two-of-three field goals and four-of-five extra points during in two regular season contests before making both field goal attempts during the Rams’ postseason loss. Ficken was with the Rams during the summer but was waived during final cutdowns.

Zuerlein, of course, is one of the NFL’s best kickers, and earned both first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2017. He ranked third last season with a 95% field goal conversion rate, and made six-of-seven attempts from 50+ yards. Per Garafolo, it’s currently unclear how long Zuerlein will be sidelined, but the Rams don’t intend to place him on injured reserve, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

NFL Workout Updates: 9/11/18

September 11th, 2018 at 9:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:

Buffalo Bills

  • DT Du’Vonta Lumpkin (link)

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

Rams Cut Cornelius Lucas, Place Ryan Davis On IR

August 31st, 2018 at 5:51pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Rams are the latest team to start the cut down to 53 players, which must be completed by Saturday afternoon. Los Angeles made the following transactions:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on injured reserve:

Lucas could have conceivably given the Rams a bit of depth at offensive tackle, as he has 35 career games under his belt (although he’s played in only six contests over the past two seasons). Davis, meanwhile, flashed during training camp and may have been an option on the edge if not for injury.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/17/18

April 17th, 2018 at 5:50pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/14/18

March 14th, 2018 at 4:06pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Here are today’s restricted free agent and exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions, with the list being updated throughout the day. All links go to Twitter unless otherwise noted:

RFAs

Tendered at the second-round level ($2.914MM):

Tendered at original round level ($1.907MM):

Non-tendered:

ERFAs

Tendered:

Non-tendered:

Rams To Stick With Sam Ficken For Week 17

December 27th, 2017 at 9:08am CST by Sam Robinson

Sam Ficken won a deep competition to replace the injured Greg Zuerlein as the kicker for the NFC West champion Rams last week, but his first NFL game did not go well. The rookie missed a 36-yard field goal and an extra point in a four-point Rams win against the Titans.

Nine other kickers made the trip to Rams headquarters last week, but Sean McVay said he will stick with Ficken going forward.

“We’re going to continue to give him an opportunity, and we believe in Sam,” McVay said in team-issued quotes. “Like we said, we loved the way that he responded and I think this week will provide a great chance for him to continue to do some things for our team, and we’re going to move forward with confidence with him.”

McVay indicated the Rams would probably rest starters in Week 17, but Ficken will have possibly the highest-stakes game of any Ram in their regular-season finale against the 49ers. He made his other three extra points last week, but the Rams could pivot to one of the more experienced kickers who took part in the tryout — one that featured Dan Carpenter, Garrett Hartley and Jason Myers — if Ficken falters again on Sunday.

Zuerlein still leads the NFL with 158 points and was voted to his first Pro Bowl a day prior to the Rams placing him on IR.

Rams Worked Out 10 Kickers To Replace Greg Zuerlein

December 20th, 2017 at 8:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Rams will be without Greg Zuerlein for the rest of the season. Their Pro Bowl kicker, since placed on IR, will undergo back surgery on Thursday, Sean McVay said (via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com).

Zuerlein has been playing through a back injury all season, and McVay labeled it a herniated disk. The 29-year-old kicker aggravated the injury while sleeping the night before the Rams’ Week 15 game in Seattle. McVay said his kicker could barely stand on Sunday, and it affected his performance and Los Angeles’ game plan against the Seahawks.

Up next for Zuerlein will be a 12-week recovery timetable.

As for the replacement effort, Sam Ficken won quite the derby despite having no NFL kicking experience. A 2015 UDFA out of Penn State, Ficken took part in a 10-man kicker audition on Wednesday.

Veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer reports (on Twitter) the Rams worked out Roberto Aguayo, Dan Carpenter, Travis Coons, Andrew Franks, Garrett Hartley, Marshall Koehn, Younghoe Koo, Mike Meyer and Jason Myers. Two long snappers — Jeff Overbaugh and Drew Farris — and two punters-as-holders (Matt Wile and Austin Rehkow) were also on hand for this unique specialty showcase, per Balzer (on Twitter).

Carpenter and Hartley have extensive NFL experience — a combined 16 seasons’ worth — while Aguayo was selected in the second round only to become a workout journeyman by his second year. He auditioned for the Browns earlier this week and also could not procure the Rams’ kicker job, one that will feature playoff opportunities. Hartley has not kicked in a game since 2014, and Carpenter hasn’t kicked this season.

The Chargers cut Coons earlier this week, but he’s been in Los Angeles for a few weeks now after being the initial Nick Novak replacement for the Bolts. Myers hasn’t kicked since losing his Jaguars job to ex-Charger Josh Lambo, and Franks — a former Dolphin — hasn’t suited up for a 2017 contest either.

Rams To Place Greg Zuerlein On IR

December 20th, 2017 at 5:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Rams endured a surprising setback Wednesday that will affect their top-flight special teams units. Greg Zuerlein will go on IR because of a back injury, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

He cannot return this season once placed on IR. Zuerlein’s back flared up during the Rams’ road win in Seattle, Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News tweets.

The Rams will replace their kicker by signing Sam Ficken, Schefter reports. The former Penn State kicker has not attempted an NFL kick.

Zuerlein was just voted to his first Pro Bowl on Tuesday night. He leads the league with 38 made field goals and has missed just two attempts. The sixth-year kicker, and one half of the Rams’ Pro Bowl specialist duo along with punter Johnny Hekker, has also made 44 of his 46 extra point tries.

A sixth-round pick out of Missouri Western in 2012, the strong-legged kicker has missed just two games in his career. Zuerlein missed two contests for the 2015 Rams. He’s enjoyed his best season this year.

The six 50-plus-yard field goal makes — including a season-long of 56 — are the second-most of his career. He of two 58-yard field goals in college and two 60-yard makes in the NFL, the 29-year-old Zuerlein provided the suddenly explosive Los Angeles offense with a safety net once it ventured into field goal range.

Ficken went to camp with the Chiefs this summer and the Jaguars in 2016, being cut after both summers. He worked out for the Chargers earlier this season and will now be one of the more important kickers in the league, with the Rams having authored one of the better turnaround seasons in NFL history. As of now, Ficken — who has not kicked in a game since suiting up with the 2014 Nittany Lions — will be called upon come playoff time.

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