It's a tradition like no other. Only the Green Bay Packers can get more injured during their bye week. Well, here we go again.
This time, it's kicker Brandon McManus dealing with a quadricep injury that puts his status for Week 6 in doubt. McManus said he plans to play, but not before head coach Matt LaFleur called the injury a "major concern."
And the Packers backed up LaFleur's comments by smashing the emergency glass. That's a polite name for the panic button. According to Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated, the Packers have worked out veterans Greg Joseph and Lucas Havrisik.
Packers may be forced into a kicker reunion nobody asked for
You may remember Joseph, both for his stint with the Packers at training camp a year ago and for his time kicking for the Minnesota Vikings.
Joseph battled Anders Carlson for the Packers' kicking job in 2024. The winner? Nobody.
While Joseph technically made the Packers' 53-man roster ahead of Carlson, it lasted a matter of hours, as the team signed Brayden Narveson shortly after (and we all remember how that experiment ended).
Andy Herman of Packer Report tracked Joseph's progress throughout his summer with the Packers, with the veteran converting only 78.9 percent of his kicks.
Since leaving Green Bay, Joseph has spent time with the Detroit Lions, New York Giants, Washington Commanders, New York Jets, and San Francisco 49ers. During that time, he converted just 16 of 20 field goals in the regular season (80 percent). That ranked 27th in the league in 2024. For perspective, McManus was third after converting 95.2 percent for the Packers.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Green Bay will need veteran help if McManus can't go this week. It's the latest concern for a special teams unit that has allowed two blocked kicks in as many games.
Hopefully, McManus is OK and can play without any limitations this week. If not, the Packers may need to call on Joseph and hope for the best.