ESPN suggests Rams make rare kicker trade with Giants
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theramswire.usatoday.com]
Cameron DaSilva
Finding a consistent and reliable kicker can be difficult – and trusting a struggling kicker to come around can be even more challenging. The Rams are dealing with both right now as Samuel Sloman has had some trouble making his kicks after the Rams picked him from their three-man camp competition.
But there could be a solution: trade Sloman to New York. At least, that’s what Bill Barnwell of ESPN suggests the Rams do.
In his trade deadline preview, Barnwell laid out 13 trade ideas for NFL teams. His final one involved the Rams sending Sloman and a 2021 sixth-round pick to the Giants in exchange for veteran Graham Gano.
Here’s part of what Barnwell wrote about the idea, explaining why it makes sense for both teams.
Sloman’s Rams have been the second-worst team in the league on scoring kick attempts. The Giants have been the NFL’s second-best team on those same plays, in part because their kicker has been off to a hot start. Gano is 13-of-14, including four makes in five tries of 50 yards or more. The former Panthers kicker missed all of 2019 with a broken leg, but he is only three years removed from a Pro Bowl-caliber season in 2017. The Giants are 0-5 and should be trying to amass draft capital; they can get a sixth-rounder here if they’re willing to take a shot on Sloman.
Sean McVay said this week that he doesn’t want to overreact to Sloman’s struggles this season by making a change at kicker, but he did say he wants to see more consistency from the rookie. So far, he’s missed two field goal attempts – one from 29 yards and another from 53 – and two extra points. Gano, on the other hand, has made all four of his field goal attempts (two from 40-49 yards) and missed one of his seven PATs.
McVay blames himself for making Sloman attempt a 53-yarder into the wind, but the 29-yarder and PATs should be almost automatic.
“You look around the league and there’s such a small inventory, we expect them to be more consistent,” McVay said. “But you’re looking at it and you’re seeing a lot of these great kickers are missing extra points and missing some field goals. I look at the one in Buffalo. I know I’ve brought this up a couple of times, but I put that more on me than anything else. But I do expect him to be automatic in those things. You don’t want to overreact to one miss, but we do want him to be more consistent.”
It’s highly unlikely the Rams trade Sloman, but it’s possible they’ll make a change at the position if he doesn’t improve in the coming weeks.
