A former Green Bay Packers starting kicker has found his next opportunity to play professional football, but he won’t be sticking around in the NFL.
According to a news release, the Edmonton Elks signed former Packers kicker Brayden Narveson to their roster Wednesday, marking the 25-year-old’s pivot to the CFL.
Narveson spent the first six games of the 2024 regular season as the Packers’ primary kicker, making 12 of his 17 field-goal attempts and all 16 of his extra-point tries. He failed to convince the team of his reliability, though, which resulted in Green Bay’s front office signing veteran Brandon McManus and giving Narveson the boot on October 16.
Narveson did get another NFL opportunity later in the 2024 season, reuniting with the Tennessee Titans after spending the preseason with them. But when he missed his only field goal attempt — from 53 yards out — in his debut against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 16, though, the team wasted no time moving on and cut him the very next day.
Now, Narveson will have an opportunity to continue his career in the CFL in 2025. And if he can embrace and string together some success, he may receive another NFL look.
Packers Rolled Dice on Brayden Narveson as Rookie
The Packers took a bold gamble on Narveson in 2024, in part because the competition for their starting placekicker job had underwhelmed them during training camp.
In 2024, the Packers had hoped that a camp battle between veteran Greg Joseph and 2023 sixth-round pick Anders Carlson would end with them finding a definite starter. Instead, both kickers experienced inconsistencies throughout camp and the preseason and left the Packers unconvinced, forcing them to look elsewhere for a better option.
Ultimately, the Packers decided to claim Narveson off waivers from the Titans after he delivered a strong preseason, making six of his seven field goals and two extra points. At the time, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur described the situation as “uncharted territory,” but he quickly found confidence in Narveson after a few practice sessions.
“Yeah, I’ve seen enough to be confident in him,” LaFleur said last September before the season opener. “If that’s what you’re asking: Do I have confidence in him? Absolutely.”
Unfortunately, Narveson’s performance quickly shook confidence in the building. He missed a costly 43-yard field goal against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, then missed another in Week 2 against the Colts, sending both misses wide right. He also missed both of his field goals in the team’s two-point loss to Minnesota in Week 4.
By the time the Packers released him, he had missed five of his 17 field-goal attempts.
Brandon McManus Has Locked Down Kicker Role for 2025
While the failure with Narveson could have left the Packers in a painstaking situation, they were fortunate enough to find an immediate solution in the 33-year-old McManus.
In 11 regular-season games for the Packers, McManus made 20 of his 21 field goal tries, including all three attempts from 50 yards and beyond. He also booted through all 30 of his extra points on the season. While McManus did miss a postseason field goal attempt for the first time in his career (previously 10 for 10), the Packers remained unshaken.
The Packers then rewarded McManus early in the offseason, signing him to a three-year, $15.3 million contract extension that — according to Over the Cap — made him one of the NFL’s 10 highest-paid kickers and tied him to the team through 2027.
While the Packers will retain options for getting out of the contract if McManus falters at some point, he does give them much more certainty at the position entering 2025.
