Packers should stick with Mason Crosby at kicker in 2019

Mason Crosby’s position with the 2019 Green Bay Packers has been anything but certain, but he should make the roster with just two weeks to go until the regular season begins.

The Green Bay Packers wanted competition at kicker, and so far this summer, it looks to have brought the best out of Mason Crosby.

Crosby is competing with Sam Ficken for the job at training camp, but right now it would be difficult to not go with the Packers’ experienced kicker.

Ficken has played well at training camp, but I believe he was always going to have to completely outplay Crosby to have a realistic chance of making the roster. If they are both kicking well, the best bet would be to go with the experience of Crosby.

And Crosby has been good. He hasn’t had too many opportunities to kick in the preseason but has converted each time. That includes two extra points against the Houston Texans, then a 43-yard field goal and an extra point against the Baltimore Ravens.

The Packers have been keen to add competition at kicker this summer. Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported the Packers were one of the teams interested in trading for kicker Kaare Vedvik, who the Ravens traded to the Minnesota Vikings.

With only just over two weeks to go until the Packers kick off their regular season against the Chicago Bears, the time to make roster decisions is almost here. At kicker, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Packers made their choice after the third preseason game. That way, either Crosby or Ficken would be able to focus on Week 1.

And if that’s the case, Crosby would likely only have Thursday’s preseason game to get through to secure a roster spot.

The Packers may see it a different way. Maybe they believe Ficken has been performing as well as Crosby throughout the summer, but he would be the cheaper option. But that’s a riskier move. Unless Crosby struggles, which so far he hasn’t this summer, replacing him with an inexperienced kicker would be a huge risk.

And that’s why it’s hard to imagine Crosby not making the roster, especially if he continues to kick well at practice this week and against the Raiders on Thursday.