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Rams bring back K Brett Maher ahead of playoffs after Lucas Havrisik's struggles in win over Giants

By Ryan Young, Yahoo Sports

NFL: SEP 25 Rams at Bengals CINCINNATI, OH - SEPTEMBER 25: Los Angeles Rams place kicker Brett Maher (8) looks at the scoreboard during the game against the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals on September 25, 2023, at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

By Ryan Young, Yahoo Sports

The Los Angeles Rams are making a last-minute kicker change before the playoffs.

The Rams — after waiving Lucas Havrisik following their 26-25 win over the New York Giants on Sunday — have signed Brett Maher, who started the season with the Rams. Havrisik missed two extra points at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

Maher spent the first seven weeks of the season with the Rams, but the team cut him after they fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 22. Maher missed two field goals and an extra point in that game. He missed six field goals total during that initial stretch.

"[We] wanted to get somebody in here that had some experience," coach Sean McVay said Monday, via ESPN. "I think when you look at some of the earlier situations he was in, we asked him to attempt a lot of long field goals. He was fairly consistent when you're talking about some of those field goals from under 50 and in."

Havrisik went undrafted out of Arizona last season and spent time briefly with the Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns before landing with the Rams. He made 15 of his 20 field goals and missed three extra points.

Maher, despite his misses, was perfect on field goals from inside 40 yards and missed only two from 40-49 yards.

"There [were] some opportunities when you want to have some patience, you don't want to rush to judgment," McVay said, via ESPN. "I think there were some good things that Lucas [Havrisik] did, but I think the overall consistency, especially when you're talking about some of those shorter-range kicks that we expect to be at a higher percentage. We just weren't coming through enough and we felt like the move was going to be in the best interest of our group."

Maher will get one game to get back into the swing of things on Sunday, when the Rams take on the San Francisco 49ers, before the playoffs. The Rams’ win on Sunday officially clinched them a wild-card spot. If they beat the 49ers, they’ll take the No. 6 seed in the NFC.

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