Johnny Hekker, the Rams’ punter and longest-tenured player, was no lock to make the roster this year after another punter, Corey Bojorquez, performed well in training camp. But Hekker worked with the Rams to remain in Los Angeles.
Hekker reworked his contract before the Rams kept him on the 53-player roster and traded Bojorquez to Green Bay, according to Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times. Hekker’s cap hit of $4.9 million this season was scheduled to be by far the highest for any punter in the NFL, so it’s unsurprising that the Rams wanted him to accept less.
Rams coach Sean McVay said that Bojorquez did great work in training camp and the preseason but that the Rams wanted to stick with Hekker, who has had a lot of success punting in Los Angeles -- and St. Louis.
“What Johnny’s done here . . . long before I got here, is something that doesn’t go lost on me, doesn’t go lost on us,” McVay said. “And I am confident that he’s going to be the productive player he’s been throughout the course of his career.”