The Packers Are Mishandling Their Kicker Situation

That’s what comes to mind when Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters that “the plan” is to stick with struggling veteran kicker, Brandon McManus.

Nobody wants to make rash decisions, but McManus is consistently costing the Packers points and has been a factor in all three games the Packers haven’t won this season. Meanwhile, while replacement kicker Lucas Havrisik hasn’t had a steady kicking job in the NFL, he’s been red-hot with the Packers, including breaking the franchise record with a 61-yarder.

McManus has earned some benefit of the doubt during his illustrious career. Mason Crosby famously struggled at times in Green Bay but became a stone-cold game-winner and the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. But with McManus struggling and still not completely healthy from a quad injury, are the Packers making a mistake by not riding the hot leg in Havrisik?

- Packers lose to the Browns after a blocked field goal.

- Blocked PAT causes 3-point swing in a tie.

- Packers miss an easy FG in a game you lose by 3.

Kicking has cost Green Bay in EVERY game the team hasn't won. Rich Bisaccia ladies and gentlemen.

— Peter Bukowski (@Peter_Bukowski) November 2, 2025

Special teams woes have plagued the Packers since the dawn of time, or at least since the team used all future mojo on Desmond Howard‘s Super Bowl MVP season. However, kicker was supposed to be the one area with answers.

Anders Carlson and Brayden Narveson cost Green Bay plenty of points, but McManus looked like the long-term solution after opening his Packer career with back-to-back game-winning field goals. The Super Bowl-winning kicker brought reliable veteran experience sorely needed. For his efforts, he earned a three-year extension and responded with a nigh-perfect offseason.

But McManus hasn’t had a great season.

It started against the Washington Commanders with a missed field goal. The following week, his blocked field goal led to Green Bay’s first loss. A returned extra point in Dallas eventually led to a tie.

A quad injury sidelined McManus for the next two games. As mentioned, Havrisik came in as the replacement and was flawless, making all ten of his kicks.

McManus returned against the Pittsburgh Steelers and missed two field goals. He didn’t look completely healthy, and thankfully Jordan Love led the offense in the second half, making those missed field goals a minor factor. And McManus did make his last two field goals, albeit they were short-ranged.

LaFleur downplayed McManus’ misses and was confident with his kicker heading into the Carolina Panthers game.

He shouldn’t have been, with McManus missing a 43-yard attempt in a game the Packers lost by three points.

The wind played a factor against Carolina, and McManus was still clearly not 100%. That could have factored into some of the game’s questionable calls.

Following the loss, LaFleur said McManus was “battling through his own issues” and wouldn’t read too deeply into the missed field goal. Still, he said, “We gotta evaluate everything that we’re doing right now,” when asked about a change.

However, LaFleur reiterated that the plan was to stick with McManus a day later, citing his good practices as evidence that supports keeping the veteran as their starter.

On the one hand, McManus has some viable excuses. Green Bay’s kick-protection plan was flawed, with veterans used only after the extra point was returned. He was clearly returned to action too early. The offense couldn’t convert on drives against Carolina, wasting multiple red-zone trips.

But the ugly reality is that McManus was one of the league’s lowest field goal percentages (66.8), with only Younghoe Koo and Joshua Karty ranked lower (by .01). McManus is 11 for 16 this season and only three for eight on field goals above 40 yards.

Riding the hot hand is common in the NFL. Teams want to prioritize their high draft picks and highly paid free agents, but whoever is playing better is going to get more opportunities. Green Bay doesn’t always do this, for better or worse. It often takes the team time to make the transition.

Still, kicker is different from other positions. Traditionally, there is only one kicker on the roster, with no true in-season competition. A kicker’s success can be hampered by so many other factors, like bad holds and snaps, the weather, and poor protection.

But we’re in a situation where the Packers have another option on the roster, and that player is outplaying the preferred option. Havrisik has a small sample size, but he’s playing better than McManus. Green Bay’s high-variance play means they need every advantage they can get. It’s worth noting that in every game the Packers didn’t win this season, Jordan Love has marched down the field to put the team in field-goal range.

If the Packers are going to keep two kickers on the roster, they need to play the one playing better. Havrisik could make his own future mistakes, but he’s healthy and on a streak. Green Bay shouldn’t have messed with that, especially if McManus still isn’t healed.

Whatever decision the Packers make at kicker will be wrong.

I have just accepted it.

— Jacob Morley (@JacobMorley) November 3, 2025