Jackson Gets His Game Back, but the Kicker Situation Is a Separate Problem

Alaric Jackson's suspension came down to one game on appeal, which is the kind of procedural win the Rams will take. The offensive line has enough moving parts right now — Justin Dedich still out, depth reshuffled — that getting Jackson back a week earlier than expected matters at the margin.

The special-teams situation is harder to explain away. Two missed field goals in recent play, and the Rams have already moved on from a kicker. Blake Grupe is listed as the depth chart's top option, but the instability around that position signals something more than a personnel blip. Close games have been this team's recurring problem — they won just four of nine one-score decisions in 2025, and special teams in tight spots is exactly where those margins get decided.

My read: the Jackson news is genuinely good, but it shouldn't distract from the kicker question, which the Rams have not yet answered cleanly. A team that lost a wild-card game it probably should have won cannot afford to leave points on the field from the kicking unit. That's a small, specific thing — and small, specific things are what beat this team last January.