Green Bay Packers: Re-Signing Mason Crosby is an Easy Decision

Of the Green Bay Packers many unrestricted free agents, kicker Mason Crosby is one of them. And deciding to re-sign him should be a relatively easy decision.

The Green Bay Packers have been one of the fortunate teams in the NFL when it comes to the kicker position. While many are scrambling to find a viable option, for over a decade with Mason Crosby at the helm, for the most part, it’s something that the Packers haven’t had to worry about.

But after a down 2018 season where Crosby had an abysmal performance in Detroit, while also missing a game-winning and a game-tying field goal that season, Green Bay brought in Sam Ficken over the summer to help create some competition.

Although there were some that thought Crosby could be cut before the 2019 season began as a way to save some cap space and to start fresh at the kicker position, GM Brian Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur stuck with the veteran. And he rewarded their faith in him with an excellent season.

Overall, Crosby would hit 22 of his 24 field goal attempts, including two game-winners against Detroit. His 91.7 field goal percentage was the highest of his career and overall it was the sixth-best in the NFL last season. On extra points, he was also very good, hitting 40 of his 41 attempts.

Crosby’s previous contract that just ended was a four-year deal, worth $16.1 million. His average annual salary of $4.025 million, was the eighth-most among kickers in 2019. Given that he is now 35-years-old, a new contract likely won’t pay him more per year, and could even come at a lesser amount.

However, regardless of what the contract figures actually end up being, as long as they’re in the ballpark, re-signing Crosby is an easy decision for the Packers. I mean, what’s the alternative?

Ficken who was competing with Crosby last summer would sign with the New York Jets and make just 19 of his 27 field goal attempts in 2019. Also, just take a quick look around the NFL and you’ll see that finding a reliable kicker isn’t that easy.

Heck, even within the NFC North we’ve seen Chicago and Minnesota struggle in recent seasons and the major effect that can have on a team.

No, kicker isn’t an exciting position to sign in free agency and of course, you want to keep the cap hit on that position as low as possible. But when you have a player of Crosby’s caliber and signing any sort of viable replacement just simply isn’t that easy, well, then re-signing him shouldn’t be a difficult decision at all.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference, Pro Football Focus, and Spotrac