The Green Bay Packers signed up for the Trey Smack rollercoaster, but they sit in an unenviable position.
How can you give up on a kicker you burned three draft picks on? The Packers traded away two seventh-round choices to move back into the sixth for Smack. How can you give up on a rookie kicker, when you knew going in that it could be rocky?
But how can you keep a kicker performing at Smack's level? His eight missed kicks lead the league. We're not talking about a rebuilding Packers team that can afford to live with the turbulence because they believe in his long-term potential. The Packers are trying to win now.
We know what this looks like. Green Bay maintained patience with Anders Carlson in his rookie year, and it ultimately cost them in the playoffs. Smack is trending toward a far worse season, and it may hurt the Packers before we can even start thinking about January.
You could forgive some misses if they're tough kicks. Maybe a 50-yarder in windy conditions. But Smack is regularly missing chip shots, none worse than a 26-yarder indoors at Ford Field. That can't happen in the NFL, rookie or not.
Smack is the only kicker to miss inside 30 yards this season. He has two misses within 40 yards, which is the same number as every other kicker combined.
The Packers believed Smack could be the solution. When Brian Gutekunst was asked in his post-draft press conference how he scouts kickers, he simply threw his hands in the air and gave a touchdown signal.
It's ironic, then, that Matt LaFleur had to ask officials to stop signaling whether a kick was good during training camp in an attempt to take the pressure off Smack.
If only LaFleur could ask the refs to stop signaling during the regular season so we could pretend the ball went through the uprights.
Trey Smack is playing worse than the Packers' previous three kickers
The Packers drafted Smack because they deemed Carlson, Narveson, and McManus not good enough. But he's playing worse than all three of them.
McManus struggled last season, missing seven kicks in 14 games, but Smack has already missed eight kicks in eight games. Carlson missed 11 in his rookie year, a number Smack is on pace to shatter.
McManus has played two games for the Los Angeles Rams this season, converting his only field goal from 30 yards and all eight extra-point tries.
The biggest issue with McManus was that he hurt the Packers in the playoffs in consecutive seasons, converting only one of his four field goals and missing an extra point. Green Bay had good reason to move on from him. But they may have gotten even worse.
LaFleur reiterated this week that Smack will remain the Packers' kicker, but their patience can only last so long. Who could the team turn to if his struggles continue?
Available kickers who could still save the Packers this season
If Brian Gutekunst changes his stance and gives up on the Smack experiment, he will have a few options.
The most obvious is Lucas Havrisik, who kicked well while McManus was injured last year. Havrisik made all four of his field-goal attempts, including breaking Mason Crosby's franchise record with a 61-yarder. He missed two extra-point tries in swirling winds at MetLife Stadium, but was otherwise perfect.
However, it's a small sample size. Havrisik's only other NFL experience came in 2023 with the Giants, when he missed five field goals and three extra-point attempts. Still, his 75 percent field-goal conversion rate was higher than Smack's.
Matt Prater is a free agent. He's 42 and may have no interest in returning to the NFL, but he played at a high level last season with the Buffalo Bills. Prater made 18 of his 20 field goals, while booting through 46 of 49 extra-point tries.
Prater wouldn't be phased by the spotlight, even in the biggest games. He has 19 years of NFL experience, has converted 425 field goals, and has made two Pro Bowls and a second-team All-Pro. The question is whether Prater can still perform at a high level. He sure did last season.
Graham Gano is another available veteran. The 39-year-old hasn't played since last season, but he missed only one of his 10 field goals and was perfect on extra-point attempts.
The concern is that Gano missed the second half of last season due to back and neck injuries, and the Giants waived him in March. It depends on his health and whether he is still interested in playing.
For now, the Packers remain committed to Smack. We can only hope he turns it around and Green Bay's season doesn't come crashing down in the playoffs because of missed kicks. We've seen that horror show play out far too often in recent years.
The Packers have options should they wish to go in another direction.
Havrisik is the most logical name on the list, given how well he performed for the Packers last season. Are there risks? Absolutely. It was a small sample size, and Havrisik has yet to find work in the NFL since. There could be a reason for that.
But keeping Smack is also a risk. The rookie struggled throughout training camp and has now missed eight kicks in eight games. Conditions will only worsen as winter draws in.
The Packers want to give him an opportunity to turn it around, but it needs to happen quickly. If not, Gutekunst may be forced to scramble for another new kicker.
Add us as a preferred source on Google