Kicker Brett Maher released by Los Angeles Rams after recent struggles; Lucas Havrisik signed

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams have released kicker Brett Maher two days after he missed two field-goal attempts and an extra point in a seven-point loss to Pittsburgh.

The Rams (3-4) signed Lucas Havrisik off Cleveland's practice squad Tuesday to replace Maher, who joined the team after training camp Aug. 30.

The 33-year-old Maher missed a 53-yard field-goal attempt and a 51-yarder along with an extra point in the Rams' 24-17 loss to the Steelers.

Maher went 17 of 23 on field-goal attempts for the Rams, although all of his misses were from 46 yards or longer. His final four misses — two against Indianapolis and two against Pittsburgh — were all in ideal conditions under roofs.

Maher infamously missed five extra point attempts for the Cowboys in the playoffs last season to close out his third stint with Dallas. Maher also kicked for New Orleans in 2021, and he was cut by Denver one day before the Rams signed him.

Havrisik has never kicked in an NFL regular-season game, but he was in training camp with the Colts this summer before joining the Browns' practice squad. He also competed for a job in Indianapolis in 2022 as an undrafted rookie free agent after finishing his college career at Arizona.

Havrisik is a Los Angeles-area native who left Norco High School as one of the nation's top kicker recruits.

As part of a major roster gutting and payroll reset last spring, Los Angeles declined to use the franchise tag or transition tag on Super Bowl winner and ex-Pro Bowl kicker Matt Gay, sticking with their organizational philosophy of not paying top dollar for special teams players.

Gay, who missed only six field-goal attempts in three seasons with the Rams, subsequently signed a $22.5 million deal with Indianapolis. He has remained one of the NFL's best kickers, making four field goals longer than 50 yards for the Colts in an overtime victory over Baltimore last month.

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