Safe to say the Los Angeles Rams' return game has been as anemic as ever since the team cut Xavier Smith and promoted Alex Bachman from the practice squad.
The Rams are still seeking a kickoff return longer than Jordan Whittington's 34 yards; Bachman is averaging 5.2 yards per punt return, with a long of 15. Clearly Smith was not the answer. Just as clearly, his replacement hasn't been, either.
It's not really Bachman's fault. He is what he is, a little-used journeyman who sat on the practice squad for a reason. He can't make lanes the coverage team doesn't. He's less mistake-prone than Smith; he's also less explosive.
At this point, though, it's plain as can be that the return game is one more area of special teams where personnel "fixes" haven't fixed anything. Cutting Smith hasn't aged well or poorly. The results have been more of the same blah.
Switching returners hasn't fixed Rams' return game
--------------------------------------------------
Actually, a third party has benefited from Smith's release: the San Francisco 49ers, who signed Smith to the practice squad apparently for the sole purpose of espionage. Smith hasn't played a game despite San Fran's abysmal return game. He's just there to share the Rams' trade secrets.
Five weeks into the Alex Bachman experience, meanwhile, Smith still owns LA's longest punt return of the season, at 19 yards. He wasn't electric, but he was serviceable when he wasn't muffing balls off his facemask or fielding would-be touchbacks at the goal line.
Yeah, that's not going to work.
Otherwise, though, Smith averaged a respectable 9.4 yards on punt returns during his three Rams seasons. Bachman's career average sits at 5.8. Whether on punts or kickoffs, he's been another version of Jordan Whittington. He runs in a straight line, smack into a poorly blocked wall of opponents, and that's the end of that.
**Rams'** [**return game rankings**](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2026/index.htm)**:**
_**Punts:**_ _7.3 yards per return,_ _**tied 26th**__; 116 total yards,_ _**17th**__;16 attempts,_ _**tied 1st;**_ _long of 19,_ _**26th**_
_**Kickoffs**__: 23.5 yards per return,_ _**29th;**_ _752 total yards;_ _**21st**__; 32 attempts, tied_ _**12th**__; long of 34, tied_ _**30th**_