The Green Bay Packers replaced future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers rather seamlessly with current starter Jordan Love, but they have had a harder time replacing the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, kicker Mason Crosby.
That’s why Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst signed free agent kicker Brandon McManus after a workout, the team announced Wednesday. He will immediately become the Packers kicker, as the club released the struggling Brayden Narveson. The Packers (4-2) have a huge showdown with the Texans (5-1) on Sunday afternoon.
The 2024 season will be the 33-year-old McManus’ 11th NFL season after nine with the Denver Broncos to start his career from 2014-2022 and last season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was the kicker for the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 championship team in the 2015 season. His 253 made field goals ranks as the fourth-most in the NFL from 2014-2023, trailing only Ravens kicker Justin Tucker (327), Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein (280) and Cardinals kicker Matt Prater (259) in the span of his career.
The Washington Commanders signed him to a one-year deal in March, but they cut him in June after he was the subject of a lawsuit that alleged sexual assault. McManus will be eligible to play for the Packers immediately after a league investigation found insufficient evidence to support a violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Crosby’s initial successor was Anders Carlson, a 2023 sixth-round pick who made 29 of his 36 field goals as a rookie but was released during final roster cuts this past summer. Green Bay claimed former Tennessee Titans kicker Brayden Narveson off of waivers following the preseason, and the undrafted free agent’s 70.6% field goal percentage (12-for-17) this regular season ranked as the second-lowest in the NFL through six weeks, ahead of only Zeurlein’s 66.7% figure (8-for-12).
