Greg Zuerlein thought he would be with Rams ‘for life’

Greg Zuerlein was one of the only remaining holdovers on the Los Angeles Rams from their time in St. Louis, but now he won’t be getting quite the storybook ending that he had envisioned.

In an interview this week on ESPN Dallas 103.3, the new Dallas Cowboys kicker discussed his departure from the Rams in free agency this offseason.

“I always thought I would be a Ram for life,” said Zuerlein, per The Dallas Morning News. “For one reason or another, things happened the way they did. [Special teams] coach [John] Fassel left and when he left I thought, huh, this guy brought me into the league and stuck by me. We’ve worked very well together, and when he landed in Dallas I thought if I’m not going to be with the Rams, Dallas would be awesome. I would love to be a Cowboy. As things went, Dallas was interested, probably in part to Coach Fassel, and so that’s when I decided it doesn’t matter if I stay with the same team my whole career. I want to be where I’m going to be happiest and I think Dallas is that place.”

The 32-year-old Zuerlein also called fellow kicker Kai Forbath, whom the Cowboys also signed this offseason to compete for the starting kicker job, a “great guy” and said that there shouldn’t be any “animosity” between them.

Zuerlein was drafted by the Rams in 2012 and made the trek with them to LA in 2016. During his time with the team, Zuerlein was a Pro Bowler as well as a First Team All-Pro selection and established himself as one of the more accurate and rangy kickers in the NFL.

While the move to Dallas will likely be a big adjustment, Zuerlein seems to be handling his Rams departure better than one of his former teammates is.