After missing the Green Bay Packers' previous two games with a quad injury, kicker Brandon McManus was back on the field Sunday night for his team's highly anticipated matchup with Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. But the 12th-year veteran certainly didn't look healthy enough to be out there, did he?
While he hit his first attempt of the night, connecting on an extra point following Jordan Love's first-quarter touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft, he failed to convert his next two, missing a 57-yard field goal early in the second quarter and then a 44-yarder just before halftime.
McManus did make a 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and both of his extra-point attempts in the second half, and thankfully for the Packers, his two misses didn't end up mattering, as Green Bay ultimately cruised to a 35-25 victory behind an incredible second half from Love.
Nevertheless, that hasn't stopped plenty of fans from calling for McManus to be replaced by Lucas Havrisik, who made six of six extra-point attempts and all four of his field goal tries in McManus' absence, including a franchise-record 61-yarder against the Arizona Cardinals last week.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur was asked to comment on the situation during his Monday press conference and didn't do much to alleviate the concerns, saying, "Kickers miss kicks. That's what I can tell you."
Packers left with a kicking headache after Brandon McManus' disappointing return
One has to wonder if McManus told the coaching staff he was healthy enough to go against Pittsburgh when he really wasn't. That's pure speculation right there, but perhaps he was feeling some pressure to play, given the excitement level surrounding Havrisik in the two weeks he was sidelined.
Some have pointed to the fact that McManus had already missed three kicks coming into Sunday night's matchup. It's worth noting, however, that two of those were blocked, the first being his fourth-quarter field goal attempt in the Packers' Week 3 loss to the Cleveland Browns and the second being an extra-point try in Green Bay's Week 4 tie with the Dallas Cowboys. He also missed a field goal against the Washington Commanders in Week 2.
Havrisik may deserve another look, even with just 11 regular-season appearances to his name, but there's an expensive issue at hand, as the Packers gave McManus a three-year, $15.3 million contract this offseason.
That said, though, Green Bay does have an out after this season, but it would cost the team roughly $3.33 million in dead-cap money. There is another interesting option out there, but it would involve trading McManus ahead of next week's deadline, and one would assume the Packers aren't overly interested in going down that road, as the return likely wouldn't be much.
McManus seems safe for the time being, but a few more missed kicks and things could get a little more interesting.