Green Bay Packers fans have been wanting the team to fix the kicker position ever since Mason Crosby was not brought back following the 2022 NFL season. In his final season in Green Bay, Crosby made 86.2% of his field goals and 94.9% of his extra points.
As the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, Crosby spent enough time with the Packers to become a fan-favorite. While he undoubtedly was one of the most clutch kickers in franchise history, many fans do not (or choose to not) remember his inconsistent seasons. In 2021, his second-to-last year in Green Bay, Crosby made 96.1% of his extra points, but only 73.5% of his field goals.
In other words, inconsistency in the regular season has, unfortunately, been a theme for the Packers for quite some time. Admittedly, there were seasons when Crosby was absolutely lights-out. But there were others, many others, that saw him struggle.
Now, Crosby hosts his own radio show in Milwaukee and the Packers have turned to former Super Bowl Champion Brandon McManus.
How the Green Bay Packers Got to the Point Where They Had to Sign Brandon McManus
As fans recall all too well, the Packers decided to replace Crosby with 2023 sixth-round pick Anders Carlson. In his lone season with Green Bay, the Auburn product made 81.8% of his field goals, but only 87.2% of his extra points.
Carlson led the NFL in missed kicks in 2023 and had two missed field goals in the NFL Playoffs. The second of these misses, in the NFC Divisional Round, was a major contributing factor to the Packers’ loss to the San Francisco 49ers, a game they dropped 25-22.
Due to Carlson’s struggles, the Packers brought in Greg Joseph to compete for their starting kicker job in 2024. However, both kickers struggled in training camp and in the preseason. As a result, both were eventually released and replaced with Brayden Narveson, an undrafted free agent who played well for the Tennessee Titans during the preseason.
Unfortunately, Narveson’s stellar preseason in Tennessee did not translate to regular season success in Green Bay. He missed five field goals and has a league-worst field goal percentage of 70.6%.
With Green Bay having high expectations for this season, it was decided that they could not wait for the rookie kicker to figure it out. As a result, they released him and signed McManus, who was recently cleared by the NFL of any wrongdoing in regard to a lawsuit brought against him for sexual assault.
McManus played for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season after spending the first nine years of his career with the Denver Broncos. He was originally signed by the Washington Commanders this offseason but was released when the lawsuit was brought against him.
While the NFL investigated the allegations and did not find enough evidence to punish him, it should be noted that, to the public’s knowledge, McManus’ accusers were never questioned by the league.
This fact, as well as the nature of the allegations, made the Packers’ signing of McManus a sore point for many fans. General manager Brian Gutekunst’s comments regarding the allegations and investigation did little to help”
As one can see, Gutekunst states that the Packers “leaned into” the NFL’s investigation and did their own digging into McManus before signing him.
The Packers’ new kicker also revealed to the Green Bay media that his suit has been “resolved.”
Fans, though, are not convinced that the team really did its due diligence:
There are other fans that trust the organization and believe that since Gutekunst says they were comfortable moving forward, then the situation really is not what it was made out to be.
Still, there are many more who are skeptical and likely will remain so until some kind of proof and legal explanation is given.
Which may never happen.
