WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – Long snapper Jake McQuaide was at home in Cincinnati, Ohio, when he was contacted by his agent.
"My agent called me and said, '(Rams head coach) Sean (McVay)'s going to hit you up in a second,'" McQuaide said after Wednesday's practice. "And I said, 'OK, that was unexpected.' But it's always a good one to get. Just want to get on a team and help 'em out however I can."
And with that, McQuaide was headed back to Los Angeles to rejoin the franchise he spent his first 10 years in the NFL with to help solve the field goal operations puzzle.
The operation, of course, is much different compared to the continuity and experience he had with former kicker Greg Zuerlein and former punter Johnny Hekker, a trio that worked together from 2012-19. Currently, it features third-year punter Ethan Evans and second-year kicker Joshua Karty, who is competing with Harrison Mevis for the job this week.
"The process of that, at least my process is, I come in and fit into whatever they already do," McQuaide said, when asked about the process of putting together and figuring out an operation like this in a such a short amount of time. "You don't ever say, like – I don't ever come in and say, 'Hey, I like to do this.' It's always, you talk to the guys who are here, whether I was in Minnesota or Miami or Chicago, whatever team, you go in, you say, 'What do you guys like? I'm gonna try to do that for you.' And then we work together and do the best we can, whatever we can, to help the team."
McQuaid said he and his wife made a family decision to take football out of the "driver's seat" to ensure greater stability for their children, since they've seen how hard it is on a player's kids. So he decided to train on his own at home, and be ready to go when a team calls him.
"And that's a way harder job, and it is mentally taxing because you see other people playing, you just know, like, 'Man, I could kill that job,' but it's what's right for our family right now," McQuaide said. "And that's like, that perspective is strong, but it doesn't make it any easier. Like, mentally, man, I want to do it. Man, I love this job. It's the best job, best job in the world."
After those stints with the Bears, Vikings and Dolphins last season, McQuaide was back waiting for an opportunity this offseason, one that did not come until McVay called earlier this week. It was about controlling what he could control while waiting, even in the midst of uncertainty.
"All I can do is go do my workouts, stay ready, snap, go to the field, and there's nobody else there, and it's just me, and there's no one really to hold me accountable, other than myself and my family," McQauide said. "And so, yeah, there are times where you're like, 'Man, I don't know,' because this year it's been pretty slow for snappers. There's not really been a lot of injuries. There's one or two. I had a workout with the Chargers, they didn't go with me, which is fine. And it's just like, stay ready, focus on yourself. You can't control when the call is going to come or if it doesn't, and if it doesn't, then just got to be at peace with that, too. But I still feel like I'm getting better. I'm not, like, trying to hang on for one or two more years or like, 'Oh, just get one more game.' Like, I feel like I've made this decision to not be a guy that's in the league right now for a team in training camp. Like, I still feel like I'm that caliber player. I'm not just a guy that's like, 'Oh, well, you got somebody hurt. Or, (I) guess we'll just put this band aid on.' I feel like I can come in and I play at the highest level."
While back home in Cincinnati, McQuaide was coaching his third-grade son's youth football team. Last year when he finished coaching youth football, the Bears called to sign him to their practice squad, so when his third-grade son's team won the city championship last weekend, the other dads who help coach that team joked, "All right, we won the championship, now you go get a job." Two days later, the call came from McVay.
"It just has some weird way of working out," McQuaide said.
