The Rams sign Grupe after Buffalo loss. Jackson's ban is reduced to one game.

The Rams have signed Blake Grupe and waived Harrison Mevis, their October 14 transaction log confirms. The kicking change follows Buffalo's 37-34 overtime win Monday. Separately, Alaric Jackson's suspension has been reduced to one game on appeal. This report was updated October 15 to replace the earlier planned-signing and pending-appeal status.

Mevis made five of nine field-goal attempts through Los Angeles' first five games. Against Buffalo, he missed from 50 in the first quarter and had a potential winner from 48 blocked in overtime. The season-long figure makes the change easier to understand than the final kick alone.

The kicking change does not erase the unit's mistakes

McVay clarified Tuesday that the kicking unit's failure cost Los Angeles a winning opportunity, without making Mevis exclusively responsible for the defeat. That distinction belongs beside the personnel change. A different kicker still needs the rest of the operation to work.

Gregory Rousseau's block gave Buffalo another possession. Tyler Bass then won it with a 45-yard field goal. Those two plays remain the decisive overtime sequence from Monday. Tuesday's roster decision is a consequence of the loss, not a revision of who made the winning plays.

The appeal removes the second game

The league initially suspended Jackson for two games after he struck Bills linebacker Bradley Chubb during the postgame confrontation. The NFL cited its sportsmanship rule. Wednesday's appeal decision removes the second game. The remaining suspension covers Week 6 against Arizona, with David Quessenberry slated to replace him at left tackle. Week 7 at Las Vegas is no longer part of this penalty.

The Rams still have two different issues before playing again: a new kicker and a one-game absence at left tackle. Grupe's signing changes the personnel available for the next field goal. It cannot, by itself, establish that the protection problem behind Monday's blocked attempt has been solved.