The Green Bay Packers suffered a shocking 16-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon. While Tucker Kraft’s injury was the biggest story that came out of Sunday’s game, so was the continuation of Brandon McManus’s issues at kicker, which may have opened the door for Lucas Havrisik to regain the starting role.
McManus struggled for the second straight week after returning from a quad injury, making 2-of-3 field goals with the miss coming on a critical 43-yard attempt in the third quarter. While it appears that McManus’s time at kicker is running out, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur may have made another attempt to defend his rationale to keep trotting him out there, telling Zach Jacobson of 247Sports that McManus is “battling through his own issues and wouldn’t look deeply” into Sunday’s missed field goal.
When reporters followed up by asking if LaFleur would consider making a change at kicker, LaFleur responded by saying, “We gotta evaluate everything that we’re doing right now,” which makes zero sense if he is honestly evaluating McManus’s struggles.
Packers’ Kicker Dilemma Deepens as LaFleur Defends Struggling McManus
LaFleur’s remarks bring more confusion to what has been a bizarre series of events for the Packers’ at kicker. After making 20-of-21 (95.2%) field goals and all 30 extra point attempts last season, McManus hasn’t looked like the same kicker, making 11-of-16 (68.7%) of his field goals and 15-of-16 (93.8%) of his extra points. A quad injury may have been to blame for his early season struggles, but he hasn’t looked good in the two games since his return, making just 4-of-7 field goals, including a 1-for-4 clip from beyond 40 yards.
Naturally, this has fans looking toward backup Lucas Havrisik. Most teams do not have a backup kicker on their active roster, but the Packers have forged ahead after Havrisik made all four attempts, including a franchise-record 61-yard attempt in the two games that McManus has missed. Even if the Packers did so as insurance in case McManus struggled, LaFleur seems hellbent on going with the veteran even as he shanks kicks into Lake Michigan.
But there is a chance that the kicker battle isn’t his decision. When asked about the decision between McManus and Havrisik last week, LaFleur replied “I’ll let Gutey handle that” referring to general manager Brian Gutekunst. Havrisik’s previous track record, where he made 15-of-20 field goals as a full-time kicker with the Los Angeles Rams in 2023, also may make LaFleur skittish about ditching the veteran.
Even if Havrisik isn’t the safe option, McManus is starting to look like the kicker LaFleur is afraid of having if he turned the job over. While he is correct when saying that everything needs to be evaluated after Sunday’s loss, that should include the kicker position, considering McManus’s struggles this season.
It’s a luxury that has turned into a full-blown concern for the Packers, but it may not be able to be solved until LaFleur acknowledges the problem.