Packers: Will Mason Crosby be ready for Week 1 vs. Vikings?
Only two weeks away from the start of the regular season, we still don’t know who will be kicking for the Green Bay Packers.
Mason Crosby has never missed a game for the Packers, but he has spent all of training camp on the physically unable to perform list.
Time is running out for the Packers to activate Crosby from the PUP list. The team must have their initial 53-man roster set by Tuesday’s deadline, which is when they will need to make a decision on Crosby.
For now, it appears head coach Matt LaFleur is uncertain.
Matt LaFleur says team has not yet decided whether kicker Mason Crosby will come off PUP before Tuesday's deadline.
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 27, 2022
If the Packers don’t activate Crosby by Tuesday, he will begin the 2022 season on the PUP list. That would mean he would have to miss the opening four games of the regular season.
Green Bay would enter an unfamiliar situation, playing around a quarter of the season without their reliable kicker. Crosby has been with the team since 2007.
The only other kicker on the roster is Ramiz Ahmed. He has put in two solid performances in the preseason.
In the two games he played in, Ahmed converted all six of his kicks — three field goals and three extra-point tries.
His field goals were from 25, 45, and 23 yards. Not a bad start for the young kicker. He did everything he possibly could do in the preseason.
There is more pressure in the regular season, especially with a Week 1 road trip to U.S. Bank Stadium on the schedule. But Ahmed has played well so far and would likely be the Packers’ choice at kicker if Crosby isn’t ready.
Hopefully Crosby is healthy and will be activated from the PUP list before the Packers finalize their 53-man roster in the coming days.
But the fact LaFleur hasn’t yet decided on whether he will be taken off the PUP list is a little concerning.