Rams Cut Harrison Mevis for Blake Grupe and Lose Alaric Jackson to a Two-Game Suspension

The Los Angeles Rams spent Tuesday cleaning up the wreckage of Monday night's 37-34 overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills. They released kicker Harrison Mevis, signed Blake Grupe off the New York Jets' practice squad, and learned that starting left tackle Alaric Jackson has been suspended two games without pay for striking Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb after the final whistle.

Sean McVay said Jackson plans to appeal. If the suspension stands, Jackson misses Sunday's home game against the Arizona Cardinals and the Week 7 trip to Las Vegas, and McVay said David Quessenberry would start at left tackle.

How Monday night got here

The kicking change was the predictable part. Mevis missed a 50-yard attempt in the first quarter, and after James Cook fumbled on Buffalo's first overtime possession, Mevis lined up a 48-yard try to win it. Greg Rousseau blocked it, and the Bills drove for the winning field goal. Mevis was 5-for-9 on field goals this season while perfect on extra points, per ESPN and Pro Football Rumors.

The suspension was not predictable. Cameras caught Jackson hitting Chubb in the face during the postgame handshakes and jersey swaps, after a brief confrontation, before teammates separated them. The league cited Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, its catch-all provision on conduct contrary to the principles of sportsmanship. It is Jackson's second career suspension: he sat two games in 2024 under the personal conduct policy. A separate June arrest on suspicion of felony domestic violence was placed in prefiling diversion, according to NFL.com, and the league has not announced any decision on that matter.

The roster picture

Grupe brings a longer track record than the kicker he replaces. He has made 86 of 105 career field goals (81.9 percent) and 96 of 98 extra points across stints with the Saints and Colts, according to Pro Football Rumors, and reports note he was perfect on field goals during his Indianapolis stint. He is not a big-leg specialist, but the Rams are buying reliability inside 50 yards, which is where Monday's game was lost.

On defense, the Rams will stay without Myles Garrett for at least another week. McVay said Garrett's practice window will not open this week as he rehabs from knee surgery, which rules him out for Arizona and leaves his return timeline open.

Fantasy fallout

Blake Grupe is a usable streaming kicker this week. The Rams are home double-digit favorites against a 1-4 Arizona team that just traded Marvin Harrison Jr. to Houston, and the total has climbed into the low 50s at most books. Kickers on heavy favorites in high-total games are exactly the profile to chase. If you dropped Mevis on Tuesday morning, Grupe is the direct replacement.

Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua should be started as normal. Nacua caught 17 passes on Monday night, and Stafford threw 54 times. Losing Jackson matters, but Arizona's pass rush is not the type of unit that turns a backup tackle into a weekly disaster. The risk shows up more in sack totals and hurried throws than in volume, and Nacua's target share is volume-proof.

Rams running backs take a small hit if Jackson sits. Left tackles drive a lot of outside zone, and a backup in that spot usually shows up as fewer clean edges to the left side. It is not a reason to bench anyone, but it trims some ceiling in a game where the Rams should be leading.

Cardinals pass rushers and Arizona D/ST gain a sliver of value. Facing a backup left tackle is the best-case version of a bad matchup, but a team defense against a Rams offense with this much volume is still a fade in most formats.

Betting angle

The market has already moved hard on this game. ESPN listed the total as opening in the mid-40s and sitting at 52.5 early in the week, with the Rams favored by roughly 12.5 to 13.5 depending on the book. That move happened mostly before Tuesday's news and reflects Arizona's post-trade receiver room and the Rams' offensive volume more than the left tackle spot.

The Jackson suspension is the piece most likely to be underweighted. Double-digit spreads are sensitive to late-game efficiency: a favorite that stalls in the red zone or takes a drive-killing sack in the fourth quarter tends to win without covering. A backup left tackle and a new kicker are both variables that affect finishing drives. That does not make Arizona attractive on its own merits, but it is a reason to be careful about laying the full number before Jackson's appeal is resolved.

Grupe is the counterweight. If the Rams turn more of their stalled drives into points than they did with Mevis, the kicking upgrade quietly offsets some of the protection downgrade. Verdexed's game probabilities are at /nfl/predictions, and the full Week 6 card is at /blog/nfl-week-6-picks-2026.

What to do in your league

1. Add Blake Grupe as a Week 6 streaming kicker, especially if you rostered Mevis. 2. Start Stafford and Nacua without hesitation. The suspension trims floor, not role. 3. Do not chase Cardinals defensive pieces off the Jackson news alone. 4. Monitor the appeal. A reduced suspension or delayed hearing would put Jackson back in the lineup Sunday. 5. Hold Myles Garrett in IDP leagues, but do not expect him this week. His practice window has to open first, and then he still needs time to ramp up.

What's next

The appeal decision is the swing item. If the hearing is not resolved in Jackson's favor before Sunday, Quessenberry gets the start against Arizona. Grupe will debut at SoFi Stadium in a game the Rams should control, which gives him a low-pressure first week before a road trip to Las Vegas.

The broader issue for a 2-3 Rams team is that preseason Super Bowl favorites cannot keep losing coin-flip games. Monday's loss came down to special teams, and Tuesday's moves show McVay's staff is not willing to wait to fix it.