The Los Angeles Rams announced that they have elevated punter Ty Zentner from the practice squad for the Week 9 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.
The reason for this is that the team’s usual punter Ethan Evans has been dealing with an illness and was ruled out of the game in Seattle because of it. Evans was unable to practice on Thursday or Friday and then head coach Sean McVay quickly ruled him out of the game.
Knowing that Evans’ status was up in the air, the Rams signed Ryan Sanborn to the practice squad on Thursday and then added Zentner on Friday. It appears Zentner impressed more on the practice field as he will get the opportunity to punt for the Rams in Week 9.
It won’t just be punting duties that fall on the responsibility of Zentner, however, as he will also hold kicks for Joshua Karty. Evans also usually handles kickoff duties for the Rams so it will be interesting to see if that now goes to Zentner or Karty.
After a 1-4 start to the season, the Rams have now won back-to-back games to get their season back on track. This Sunday represents a massive opportunity for the Rams as they look to get back to .500 by beating a quality division opponent.
Outside of the Rams, all of the other NFC West teams currently sit at 4-4 on the season, so the division is wide open going into the second half of the season.
If the Rams are able to beat Seattle in Week 9 then that may give them the momentum to take control of the division. The hope is that Zentner’s services will not be needed, but if they are, he comes in with nine games of NFL experience under his belt.
He kicked in four games for the Houston Texans and five games for the Tennessee Titans during the 2023 season before being waived by the latter this past August.
Too early to tell if Rams will be buyers
At 3-4, the Rams are just a half game out of first place in the NFC West and now could potentially become buyers ahead of the Nov. 5 trade deadline.
However, Sean McVay cautioned that it is still too early to tell if that will be the case. If the team does go that route, they could look to acquire some help at inside linebacker to bolster a defense that seems to be improving weekly.
