The Green Bay Packers find themselves in a bizarre situation in the kicking game.
They have two kickers on the roster: the experienced but struggling Brandon McManus and the unproven but red-hot Lucas Havrisik.
Despite McManus' struggles haunting the Packers in last week's loss to the Carolina Panthers, head coach Matt LaFleur had seemingly remained firm in his stance that the veteran will remain the kicker. However, it appears his position is softening.
"Every time it's competitive situation," said LaFleur. "We're going to have both guys kick today, and we'll see where Brandon's at in terms of his health and whatnot, and go with who we feel like gives us the best opportunity to go out there and compete and win."
Matt LaFleur hints at an open competition for the kicking job
The Packers have preferred McManus in recent weeks despite featuring on the injury report. It's tough to understand, considering how well Havrisik had played. Havrisik's performances should've given Green Bay confidence to place McManus on injured reserve and let him get fully healthy.
Beyond a couple of blocked kicks, McManus was near perfect to begin the season, just as he had been since arriving in Green Bay last year. Then he got hurt, and the Packers found a temporary replacement who suddenly turned into an unstoppable force, booting every kick through the uprights, even shattering a franchise record with a 61-yarder.
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Then McManus returned, and either through not being fully healthy or due to the newfound pressure from Havrisik, the veteran kicker has seemingly forgotten how to do it. McManus has missed three kicks in the two games since returning to the lineup, including a costly 43-yard blunder in what ended up a three-point loss.
It leaves Green Bay in the awkward position of rostering two kickers.
McManus logged a full participation during Thursday's practice, an indication he is trending toward being close to 100 percent for Monday Night Football. It will be fascinating to see how the Packers handle this.
They can't keep rolling McManus out there, healthy or not, if the kicks in the 40- to 50-yard range keep sailing wide. It cost them last week. For now, it seems that the veteran remains the No. 1 choice, assuming he's healthy.
However, while LaFleur didn't outright say it, his comments seem to hint that the door may have finally opened for Havrisik.