One of the Los Angeles Rams’ Achilles heels in 2025 was their special teams as it cost them in a number of games, including in the NFC Championship Game loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
The Rams know how badly it hurt them and are doing what they can to address it this offseason. That started with bringing in Bubba Ventrone, formerly of the Cleveland Browns, to be their new special teams coordinator. The hope is that he will be able to overhaul that group, taking them from a weakness to a strength.
He needs some players to be able to do that though, and the Rams got to work on the first day of free agency by signing former New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins long snapper Joe Cardona, per Mike Reiss of ESPN:
From the former Patriots department; Long snapper Joe Cardona is set to continue his NFL career with the Rams, agreeing to a 2-year deal.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) March 9, 2026
Cardona was originally drafted by the Patriots in the fifth round out of Navy in 2015. He spent 10 seasons with the team before moving on to the Miami Dolphins in 2025.
With this signing, that means Jake McQuaide’s second tenure with the team is likely coming to an end. He was signed in the middle of last season and finished out the year as the team’s long snapper.
Sean McVay excited about new Rams special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone
Sean McVay discussed what new special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone will bring to the team and why he’s excited.
“There is an energy, there is a toughness mentally and physically that he provides,” McVay said of Ventrone. “There is a style of play philosophically with how he believes in coaching, what his units have looked like, where he foundationally learned what he knows about this game. There is a lot of guys that he’s kind of come from that have had really a ton of success as (special) teams coordinators.”