Rams kicker Blake Grupe placed on injured reserve after knee injury in first game with team

Los Angeles Rams kicker Blake Grupe will be placed on injured reserve after injuring his knee in his first game with the team, a Week 6 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Head coach Sean McVay said Monday that Grupe tore his ACL in Sunday's 18-16 defeat. Grupe was hurt while making a tackle on a kickoff. The injury means the Rams must find a new kicker for the second week in a row, adding to the team's ongoing special teams problems.

Left-leaning outlets, the New York Times and CBS News, focus on the injury happening in Grupe's debut and on what it means for the Rams' special teams, with the Times presenting a video explainer. Alternative sources, CBS Sports and Newsweek, stress the injured reserve move and describe him as a replacement kicker, with the Week 6 loss as context. Right-leaning New York Post gives the most detail, citing McVay on the torn ACL and the 18-16 score, and calling the news a tragic hit. All sides agree on the core facts: the knee injury, the tackle, the debut game and the special teams struggles. They differ mainly in how specific they are about the diagnosis and in tone.