The Green Bay Packers will have a kicking competition this summer, just not how everyone expected.
Lucas Havrisik survived the offseason program and remained in Green Bay beyond Brandon McManus' release, which seemed to indicate he would compete with rookie Trey Smack for the job. The team has instead gone in a different direction on the eve of training camp.
The Packers have made two notable moves. First, as reported by Bill Huber of Packers On SI, they are signing kicker Lenny Krieg after a tryout.
Krieg is from Berlin, Germany, and could've taken the Packers' International Player Pathway spot, which wouldn't have counted against the 90-man roster. Instead, per Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Packers won't use the IPP designation on Krieg. He will join the 90-man roster, with the team waiving Havrisik.
Packers moving on from Lucas Havrisik a day before training camp makes little sense
Havrisik has performed well when given opportunities in Green Bay.
He stepped in during McManus' absence last season, converting all four field goals and seven of his nine PATs. Havrisik even set a franchise record by hitting a 61-yard field goal in the win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Although it's a small sample size, Havrisik made all of his kicks in the offseason practices open to the media this spring. The same was not true for Smack, who struggled for consistency.
Krieg will become Smack's main challenger for the job, but these roster moves would indicate the Packers' sixth-round rookie is the overwhelming favorite.
Who is Lenny Krieg, and what should Packers fans expect?
Krieg is still relatively new to the sport, having played soccer in Germany. He received his first opportunity in football with the Berlin Adler in the German Football League and later with the Stuttgart Surge in the European League of Football.
His performances there earned Krieg an opportunity to show what he could do at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2025, where he made all 14 of his kicks. He was the only kicker who went 100 percent.
Krieg spent all of last summer's training camp with the Atlanta Falcons, but he ultimately failed to make the 53-man roster. He did take part in the preseason, converting a 57-yard field goal but missing from 53 yards against the Detroit Lions. The New York Jets signed him to a reserve/future contract in January but moved on in June.
And here we are. Krieg has made an incredible rise in a short space of time, but he lacks experience in any meaningful game. It would be a massive risk for the Packers to make him their Week 1 kicker, even if he impresses in the preseason.
Krieg may end up on the practice squad and keep developing, but it's hard to imagine him getting snaps in the regular season.
The Packers are taking a gamble with Smack. He is now the overwhelming favorite to win the job, but given his lack of consistency in the offseason program, it's fair to wonder how he will perform when regular-season pressure and wintry conditions arrive.
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