Over the last two weeks, the Green Bay Packers have had the luxury of turning to recently signed kicker Lucas Havrisik, who has stepped up and exceeded all expectations for an injured Brandon McManus.
Havrisik is perfect 4-for-4 on field goals, which includes a 61-yard field goal that he made last week against the Arizona Cardinals, and 6-for-6 on extra points. If you’re a Packers fan or head coach Matt LaFleur, you couldn’t ask for a better result with McManus banged up.
That said, the Packers do hope McManus will be ready to kick as soon as this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night. On Wednesday afternoon, LaFleur met with reporters and said that McManus will kick tomorrow, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. The veteran kicker usually kicks on Wednesdays, as highlighted by ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
If you’re the Packers, this is tremendous news, as McManus did not practice at all last week and in the days leading up to their Week 6 injury. The next step will be to see how he feels and if his right quad gives him any trouble.
Brandon McManus Set to Kick at Thursday’s Practice After Missing Last 2 Games
As you can imagine, some Packers fans on social media weren’t exactly enthused to hear this news about McManus, as Havrisik has become an instant fan favorite among the base.
The Packers signed the former UFL kicker to the practice squad almost two weeks ago, once they realized that McManus might not be able to play in Week 6. Havrisik, who made 22-of-25 field goals with the Arlington Renegades earlier this year in the UFL, was a perfect 2-for-2 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points in the nine-point win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
As we previously mentioned, Havrisik carried that momentum over into last week’s game, and the Packers needed it as they escaped with a four-point win. Packers fans yearn for McManus to show that type of perfection, as he’s missed two field goals (7-of-9) and an extra point (10-of-11).
McManus hasn’t been as crisp as we saw last season, when he arrived in Green Bay this time a year ago, and made 20-of-21 field goals. Nonetheless, if McManus can make it through practice this week and perform well on Sunday night, then that will surely catch the fanbase’s attention.
At the same time, the Packers will have to make a tough decision on Havrisik. Since he’s on the 53-man roster, Green Bay would likely cut or waive him, as teams do not carry two kickers.
If he’s waived, the Packers are exposing him to other teams, who might need a kicker. However, in the unlikely event that he doesn’t get picked up, maybe Green Bay re-signs Havrisik to the practice squad.