san francisco 49er

The Rams are no longer kicking the can down the road when it comes to their kicking problems.

On Wednesday, the Rams signed kicker Harrison Mevis to the practice squad to compete with second-year pro Joshua Karty. The move came a day after the team signed veteran long-snapper Jake McQuaide to compete with Alex Ward.

“It’s all geared toward trying to be able to just get some solutions and some kick consistency really with our field-goal operation,” coach Sean McVay said Wednesday. “I think it’s important to have good competition at some spots that we feel we can have improved play.”

The Rams are preparing for their game on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

The Rams are 6-2 — and their losses against the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles and the 49ers both resulted from problems in the kicking game that resurfaced without dire consequences in last Sunday’s rout of the New Orleans Saints.

Against the Saints, Karty missed a 39-yard field goal attempt and an extra-point attempt. Karty has made 10 of 15 field-goal attempts and 23 of 26 extra-point attempts.

McVay said after the game that the Rams would evaluate “all parts of where we go with this operation.”

On Tuesday, they turned to McQuaide, 37, who played for the Rams from 2011-2020 and was part of a special teams unit that also included kicker Greg Zuerlein and punter/holder Johnny Hekker.

“If all things go well with Jake, we expect him to be our long-snapper,” McVay said.

On Wednesday, they brought in Mevis, who made 89 of 106 field-goal attempts at Missouri, including one from 61 yards. In the United Football League this past season, he made 20 of 21 field-goal attempts.

So Karty and Mevis will duel during expanded special teams drills this week.

“We’ll implement more than we normally would on a Wednesday and a Thursday and truly be able to kind of use it as a competition,” McVay said.

A day after Green Bay’s blockbuster acquisition of edge rusher Micah Parsons, a legendary NFL executive was riding an emotional high.

“I feel so good. I’m so excited about it,” said Carmen Policy, who built championship teams with the San Francisco 49ers and is pulling for his son to do the same with the Packers. “I think it’s great that the group up there is willing to think outside the box. I have a lot of faith in what they’re assembling.”

The Packers, with Ed Policy as president, made a stunning move Thursday in acquiring Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for first round picks in 2026 and ’27 and three-time Pro Bowler Kenny Clark.

For the elder Policy, the aggressive transaction was reminiscent of the buy-now-pay-later philosophy in 1994 of the 49ers, who went on a big-money shopping spree to collect top-shelf free agents to build their Super Bowl-winning roster. That included plucking star linebacker Ken Norton Jr. from the Cowboys, who had beaten San Francisco in the previous two NFC championships.

In luring talent with lots of guaranteed money on the front end, Carmen Policy and Hall of Fame owner Eddie DeBartolo found a loophole in the salary cap which the NFL had just implemented.

“The salary cap was designed to actually disrupt the 49ers — and the Washington Redskins — but primarily us,” Policy said by phone Friday. “They devised the rules with, ‘How do we change this so the 49ers can’t do it.’ Which, in a way, was a compliment. But what we did was salvage our veteran team and then load up, because we couldn’t tolerate losing to Dallas three times in a row. We knew if we got to the Super Bowl we’d win. It was inexcusable and insufferable.”

The situation isn’t precisely parallel, but Policy sees similar risk taking in the Packers’ move. And not surprisingly, he’s proud of his son who worked his way up from Arena League executive to general counsel of the Packers to team president and chief executive.

“I see him as a much better executive than me,” Carmen Policy said. “I think Ed is really capable of running a public company. He’s smart, he’s disciplined, he’s focused. I would say he’s less inclined to take risks than I was. He’s good with people and he’s patient.

“He’s going to work with his people and give them the leeway they deserve. But ultimately, it has to pencil out in the end. Now we’re hoping, fingers crossed, that this pencils out in the end, meaning a Super Bowl.”

The elder Policy, who later was president and part-owner of the Cleveland Browns, said this transaction is not only good for the Packers but for the NFL as a whole.

“This is a blessing for the league,” he said. “They can point to the smallest market and say this community-owned team without a billionaire owner can still compete with New York, L.A. and Dallas. It speaks so well for competitive balance and how far the league has come.

“And suddenly, you’re not hearing players complain about going to Wisconsin in the winter, as opposed to Manhattan or Manhattan Beach. It puts competitive balance on display.”

Greg Papa, the legendary sports radio voice in the Bay Area, is stepping away from his broadcasting duties while undergoing treatment for cancer, he announced Friday.

Papa, the radio voice of the San Francisco 49ers and a longtime host on KNBR (680 AM), did not specify the type of cancer he is battling in a statement released by the radio station but said he expects a full recovery.

“As I fully focus on my treatment and work toward a full recovery, I’m stepping away from my broadcasts but look forward to returning soon,” Papa said. “Thanks to everyone for your prayers and good wishes as I begin this fight.”

Papa, 62, began his career doing radio play-by-play for the Indiana Pacers in 1984 but launched a decades-long career in the Bay Area when hired by the Golden State Warriors in 1986.

He transitioned to television in the ‘90s, calling games for the San Antonio Spurs. He also called baseball games on TV, beginning with the Oakland Athletics before jumping to the San Francisco Giants in the mid-2000s.

When play-by-play announcer Dave Flemming’s microphone went dead for 10 seconds after Barry Bonds hit his 715th career home run to pass Babe Ruth on the all-time list in 2006, Papa took over the broadcast and explained what had transpired.

“To lose a mic like that, I’ve never seen it,” Papa said. “I’ve never been a part of something like this.”

Flemming was distraught but took it in stride with Papa’s help.

“I think it’s the last gasp of the curse of the Bambino,” Flemming joked. “Now, I’m starting to rethink my whole world.”

Papa’s coworkers rallied to support him when the diagnosis was announced.

“Greg is not just our teammate at The Sports Leader, he’s one of the most iconic play-by-play men in the history of our beloved Bay Area,” said Brian Murphy, the popular longtime KNBR talk show host. “Nobody else has done the Warriors, Raiders, Giants, A’s and 49ers like Greg, so he has every Northern California fan base rooting hard for him to come out healthy and get back behind the mic.”

Papa, a three-time winner of the California sportscaster of the year award, has been the radio play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco 49ers since the 2019 season. His contract with the 49ers extends through the 2028 season.

“The 49ers family extends our unwavering love and support to Greg Papa and his family following his recent cancer diagnosis,” the 49ers said in a statement. “We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming him back to the radio booth as the ‘voice of the 49ers’ whenever he is ready.”