WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – Wide receiver Davante Adams said it best: The kicking game can be "a team's best friend," and the Rams are trying to recapture that reality.

Their 66.7% field goal percentage is the league's worst, and head coach Sean McVay vowed to fix it after last week's loss to the Saints included a missed field goal (which was nearly blocked) and a missed extra point. He emphasized that there is no one person at fault, but it's the collective unit that needs to improve and operate in unison.

This week, L.A. brought in second-year kicker Harrison Mevis to compete with Joshua Karty, along with veteran long snapper Jake McQuaide, who spent his first 10 years with the Rams, to compete with Alex Ward. McVay said they would incorporate more field goals into their normal practice routine on Wednesday and Thursday because of that.

Here's what each player had to say about the special teams competitions.

Kicker competition

Mevis spent time on the Panthers' practice squad last season before going 21 of 23 with the UFL Birmingham Stallions this summer between the regular season and playoffs – both misses came from over 50 yards. He was signed to the Jets' 90-man offseason roster in June shortly thereafter, but was cut before the season.

Still, he stayed ready for an NFL opportunity, kicking two-to-three times a week and continuing to lift weights for the first half of the season in case someone called, and the Rams finally did.

"I was going to actually go kick when I got the call to come here," Mevis said. "So I was like, 'Oh, I guess I can't kick today because I've got to get on a plane.'"

The former Missouri Tiger is known for his strong leg – his 61-yard, game-winning field goal against Kansas State in 2023 is the longest of his college or professional career. Despite not having kicked in a regular season NFL game after going undrafted in 2024, Mevis has stayed consistent with his routine, waiting for an opportunity to compete.

"You've got to love what you do, you've got to love it," Mevis said. "That's the magic dust, man. If you don't like what you do, you're not going to be good at it. I love playing football. I love kicking a ball. That's all I've known for the last eight years. And I'm very blessed to do what I do, and I'm just trying to do the best I possibly can and have fun while doing it."

Mevis said he hit the ball well in his first practice with the team on Wednesday, adding that he likes the California weather, as it was getting a bit cold back home in Missouri. His competition, Karty, felt similarly.

Karty said he "hit the ball really well" on Wednesday and is excited to build on that. He acknowledged that the unit at large has struggled this season, himself included, but added that he has "a great sense" of what he needs to do personally to improve. He's extremely motivated by the competition.

"I was trying to help my team by hitting high balls and I think just focusing on a couple of things here and there, where I'm just trying to have good, consistent, crisp technique and crisp contact and good, straight high balls," Karty said.

He added that finding the right timing within the kicking operation will be a big factor in his success, especially with a new long snapper in the mix. "As kicks start to go in and go in, I think that rhythm, that timing, will just kind of become second nature," he said.

Long snapper competition

McVay said on Wednesday that he expects McQuaide to be the team's long snapper in San Francisco on Sunday, as long as things continue to look the way they have.

"He's obviously going to earn the right to be out there, but if he looks like we would anticipate and what he looked like yesterday when we ended up working out two other kickers, things are trending in that direction," McVay said.

At 37 years old, this is McQuaide's 15th NFL season, and he's played for four other teams since he left the Rams in 2020. In that time, he's learned not to be disruptive, but rather to adapt to the process that each unit has in place.

"I come in and fit into whatever they already do," McQuaide said. "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.'"

McQuaide had been practicing on his own, living in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his family. They decided to keep their family in one central location, regardless of his job, to give his kids more stability. That meant training alone, with no one to keep him accountable apart from himself and his loved ones.

Despite his age, McQuaide never felt like he declined as a snapper. In fact, he still feels like he's still "getting better," not just holding out hope for one more game or one more season. In terms of the competition with Ward, McQuaide said they are both part of the "long snapper brotherhood," and neither of them make the decision on who starts. He's happy to share tips and wants them to learn from each other.

Ward said he hasn't lived up to his own standards so far this season in terms of "base control," adding that the kicking operation is like a puzzle, and all the pieces need to fit together. He's also embracing the competition with McQuaide as an opportunity to grow, and hopefully prove himself.

"It's a chance to get better," Ward said, "a chance to show what I can do, and a chance to prove that I can be here and do the work, do the job."

He added that "iron sharpening iron" is a positive thing, and that goes for both competitions.