Former Green Bay Packers Kicker Anders Carlson Has Lost His Job (Again)

It did not take long for Green Bay Packers fans to realize that the franchise made a mistake in their attempt to replace kicker Mason Crosby with Anders Carlson in 2023. Crosby, the all-time leading scorer in Packers history, was beloved by fans and had a solid year in 2022, making 86.2% of his field goal tries and 94.9% of his extra point attempts.

The decision to move on from Crosby could have been understood better had the Packers chosen a kicker with a better pedigree and reputation than Carlson. In five years at Auburn, he made just 71.8% of his field goals (though he did make 98.3% of his extra points). This level of inconsistency made many wonder why Green Bay drafted him at all. A lot of draft experts had him going undrafted, which means the Packers still could have signed after the draft if he was the kicker they really wanted.

The Green Bay Packers Went from Anders Carlson to Brandon McManus

In his lone season with the Packers, Carlson made 81.8% of his field goals (which is actually 0.6% better than Crosby’s career field goal percentage), but only 87.2% of his extra points. He led the NFL in missed kicks and played a not insignificant role in Green Bay’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Playoffs.

As a result of his struggles, the Packers decided to bring in Greg Joseph to compete with him in training camp. Neither kicker performed well, so both ended up being released. Instead, the Packers claimed Brayden Narveson off of waivers from the Tennessee Titans.

Unfortunately, Narveson did not prove to be any more reliable than Carlson was. In six games with Green Bay, he made just 70.6% of his kicks (and 100% of his extra points).

After the Packers’ first six games, they released Narveson and signed free agent kicker Brandon McManus. Since arriving in Green Bay, McManus has made 94.1% of his field goals and 100% of his extra points.