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Entering Week 16, the Los Angeles Rams were in pretty great shape in terms of health and availability from the roster.
Until today when we learned K Greg Zuerlein’s season is now over having been placed on injured reserve with a back injury:
Surprise setback for Super Bowl contender: Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein - aka “Legatron” - is being placed on IR with a back injury and team is signing former Penn St kicker Sam Ficken, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 20, 2017
This is going a huge loss for the Rams as Zuerlein was having a career year, and was just recently named to the 2018 Pro Bowl. GZ was 38/40 on field goal attempts this season with one of the misses coming from 63 yards away. He was also leading the NFL in points, and was on pace to break the all-time record by points for a kicker in a single season.
Not only was he as automatic as they come, Legatron’s ability to pin the ball deep on kickoffs was a major help as well allowing his coverage units to trek downfield and typically pin opposing teams in bad position.
With this news, the Rams moved quickly to grab a replacement in Sam Ficken:
#LARams have confirmed they’re placing Greg Zuerlein on IR with a herniated disc, and signing K Sam Ficken
— Omar Ruiz (@OmarDRuiz) December 20, 2017
For a team looking to make a playoff push for the first time in a long time, this loss will hurt. Special Teams Coordinator John Fassel has proven to make magic from nothing plenty of times before.
Get well, Legatron.