It Took Packers Just One Month to Massively Regret Kicker Decision

Even though the Green Bay Packers have been tirelessly trying to find a Mason Crosby replacement since he left after the 2022 season, they still haven't been able to do so. Every Packers fan is scarred by the Anders Carlson experiment of last year. Therefore, it was an offseason priority for the Packers to find a reliable kicker.

The Packers worked out several kickers throughout training camp. Carlson and veteran kicker Greg Joseph competed for most of the preseason. Neither was able to impress the coaching staff, so the team moved on from both and signed Brayden Narveson. The undrafted free agent out of NC State, Narveson spent the preseason with the Tennessee Titans but lost the starting job to Nick Folk.

After his release in Tennessee, Narveson was claimed off waivers by the Packers. The rookie's start to his NFL career has been a mixed bag so far. He has made all six extra-point attempts but is 9/11 in field goal attempts.

He has yet to kick one over 50 yards, so we don't know much about his range so far. However, the fact he is 3/5 on attempts over 40 yards is concerning and reminiscent of Carlson, who went 7/13 in attempts over 40 yards last year.

In today's NFL, anything below 50 yards is basically a chip shot. Most elite kickers rarely miss those opportunities.

Greg Joseph, who the Packers cut before the season, showed that in Thursday Night Football. Now with the New York Giants, Joseph made all five field goal attempts, the longest being a 52-yarder. He single-handedly kept the Giants in the game who struggled to score throughout the occasion.

Joseph has a career accuracy of 82.7% on his kicks. How Narveson fares remains to be seen but the early returns indicate that the Packers may have made a mistake.

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