A major storyline following the Green Bay Packers' wild-card loss to the Chicago Bears was the fact that they left seven points on the field due to three missed kicks from Brandon McManus.
Whether the team decides to cut the 34-year-old remains to be seen, but his recent failures underline one of the most consistent problems in Green Bay for the last three seasons.
The Packers have failed to find a solid footing at the kicker position ever since Mason Crosby left the team in 2022. Since then, four kickers have donned the green and gold: Anders Carlson, Brayden Narveson, Brandon McManus, and Lucas Havrisik. The results have been...mixed.
Packers' kicking problem is far worse than it seems, and it is costing them in the playoffs
Selected in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Carlson's time with the Packers started off great, with just one missed field goal in his first seven games. However, by the end of the regular season, it became clear that Carlson didn't yet have the leg to be a reliable kicker in the NFL.
While he made every field goal from 39 yards or fewer, the rookie missed seven of his 14 attempts from beyond the 40-yard line, including a 44-yarder that would have put the Packers up by seven against San Francisco with six minutes left in the divisional round of the playoffs. The 49ers ended up defeating the Packers 24-21.
The following season, undrafted rookie Brayden Narveson was handed the reins. Narveson didn't have as hot a start as Carlson, missing five kicks in his first six games. His inconsistencies caused the Packers to take a new approach, moving away from rookie kickers and signing veteran Brandon McManus in Week 7. Narveson never missed an extra point as a Packer, but ended the season with a field goal percentage of 66.7 percent, the second-lowest in the league among qualifying kickers.
McManus, who joined the team in his 11th season as an NFL kicker, couldn't have asked for a better kickoff to his time as a Packer. Game-winning kicks in his first two games, combined with just one miss his entire regular season, made it seem as though McManus would finally solve Green Bay's kicking crisis. Even with a 38-yard miss in the Wild Card loss to the Eagles, McManus's regular-season efforts were enough to earn a three-year deal worth $15 million.
However, his first season on the new deal wasn't as smooth as 2024, with two missed kicks in the first three weeks before suffering a leg injury in Week 4. He was ruled out of the next two games, which led the Packers to bring in Lucas Havrisik, who had not kicked in an NFL game since 2023. Over the next two weeks, Havrisik made all 10 of his kicks, including a 61-yarder that set a franchise record.
Havrisik's immediate success inspired a debate within the Packers' fanbase about whether the new hire should take over indefinitely, even if McManus was cleared to return. These concerns grew when McManus returned in Week 8, with the veteran missing four of his next six field goal attempts.
McManus was ruled out for a Week 11 matchup against the New York Giants, with the coaching staff pointing to his reaggravated leg injury, but Havrisik's return was underwhelming. The 26-year-old missed two extra points in the Packers' victory, clearing the path for McManus to return the following week. He finished the season without a single missed kick in his last seven games.
His hot streak to round out the regular season made his misses in the Wild Card Round that much more devastating, as calls for change grew among the Packers fanbase. It isn't normal for an NFL team to have four kickers in three seasons, and Green Bay's front office shouldn't coast on the fact that the team's terrible injury luck is likely what cost them a longer playoff run.
Even with players like Micah Parsons and Tucker Kraft returning next year, the Packers can't afford this level of inconsistency from their kickers. Moves need to be made, whether it be moving on from McManus in favor of a promising free agent, organizing a true kicking competition this offseason, or firing special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, who has been at the helm of the worst units in the league for the last four seasons.