The Green Bay Packers won't officially open training camp on July 23, but that hasn't stopped the front office from having to pivot and make a move after a freak injury left a member of the 90-man training camp roster unable to take the field.
It remains to be seen exactly what Brian Gutekunst and the rest of the brain trust in Green Bay elect to do to replace the specialist, as he was expected to provide competition for the kicking job during camp. Now, he will not have the opportunity to prove himself in hopes of doing enough to elevate him from the practice squad, where he resided this past season, to the active roster.
Packers Cut Ties With K Alex Hale After Freak Injury Before Training Camp
The Packers are officially on the market for another kicker after the team was forced to release Alex Hale just days before he would have started a competition against incumbent kicker Brandon McManus. Unfortunately for the former Oklahoma State Cowboys kicker, he won't have that chance after an eye injury suffered during a workout is going to sideline him for several weeks.
Freak deal with Alex Hale. Suffered an eye injury while working out and needs to take several weeks off. #Packers can't let Brandon McManus do all the kicking, so they had to let him go. It's possible he returns, but depends on who #Packers pick up and how it goes. https://t.co/yxEOzbMijN
— Tom Silverstein (@TomSilverstein) July 21, 2025
Even with the three-year, $15.3 million deal McManus signed with Green Bay this March, the Packers should sign another kicker to push the veteran during training camp and the preseason. It makes zero sense not to, as Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel stated.
While McManus was on his game in the 11 contests he appeared in for Green Bay this past season, it isn't realistic to expect him to convert over 95% of his field goal attempts again in 2025. This is especially true when considering that McManus' career conversion rate is only 85% and his numbers going back to the 2020 season hovered closer to 80%.
Packers fans will have to wait and see what direction the front office elects to go in finding another kicker to join the team during training camp.