Another week is in the books, which means another chapter has been written about who is playing kicker for the Green Bay Packers. The Packers’ kicking situation has been one of the biggest storylines of the year for the team, beginning when Brandon McManus suffered a quad injury last month and Lucas Havrisik performed well in his absence.
Since then, the carousel has spun like a NASCAR tire, with Green Bay fans trying to guess who will start each week. Havrisik started in place of McManus during Sunday’s win over the New York Giants, but his two missed PATs left him on thin ice with Matt LaFleur and potentially out of a job when McManus returns.
Much like any good soap opera, though, the Packers have kept their fans guessing as LaFleur offered another vague update on Monday, suggesting that McManus will not require a stint on injured reserve, according to Packers team writer Weston Hodkiewicz. While it likely wasn't his intent, LaFleur only created another wave of headaches for everyone involved with this comment.
“I think it’s one of those things you got to take in stride and handle it on a day-to-day basis,” LaFleur added via The Leap’s Jason B. Hirschhorn.
Packers’ Kicker Chaos Continues Entering Week 12 Matchup vs. Vikings
LaFleur’s comments should go over about as well as a trip to the dentist. Getting LaFleur to announce his kicker has been like pulling teeth on a week-to-week basis, and more often than not, he’s chosen the wrong kicker as the Packers have used the unconventional move of keeping two kickers on the active roster.
McManus has the longer track record and began the season making 7-of-9 field goals (77.8%) with one attempt being blocked, and 11-of-12 extra points with one blocked. Havrisik replaced him for two games after the team’s bye week, going 4-for-4 on his FG attempts, including a franchise record 61-yard field goal. McManus returned and, frankly, wasn't great, as he converted just 4-of-8 (50%) field goal attempts, including a rather horrendous 1-for-5 on attempts from beyond 40 yards, before Havrisik went out and missed a pair of extra points in Week 11.
After suggesting that a change could be made, it appears the Packers still don’t know whether McManus is even healthy enough to kick, allowing the drama to continue for at least another week. An alternative option would be to place McManus on injured reserve and give Havrisik a full sample size to see what they have, but Green Bay's brain trust seems content to spin the chamber and hope that whichever kicker they choose doesn’t shipwreck their chances of winning.
It’s a drama that isn’t ending anytime soon and could once again go down to the wire as the Packers prepare for the Minnesota Vikings in Week 12.