Packers' Kicker Drama Takes New Turn After Surprise Addition
By Jovan Alford
The Green Bay Packers made one of the more shocking moves on Tuesday as they released second-year kicker Anders Carlson. Carlson was embroiled in a heated kicking competition that started in a minicamp and continued to the final preseason game.
Carlson competed with multiple kickers over the last couple of months such as Greg Joseph, James Turner, Alex Hale, and Jack Podlesny. However, Carlson outlasted most of those kickers, except Joseph.
That said, conventional wisdom says Joseph should be the Packers’ starting kicker when they begin the 2024 regular season next week in Brazil. However, Green Bay made an interesting addition to its special teams department on Wednesday.
The Packers claimed kicker Brayden Narveson from the Tennessee Titans. Narveson had an excellent preseason with the Titans, making 6-of-7 field goals, including knocking through a 59-yard kick through the uprights.
Nonetheless, with the Packers claiming the former North Carolina State kicker, they’ll have to make a corresponding move to get him on the 53-man roster.
#Packers have claimed #Titans K Brayden Narveson, who hit 6 of 7 field goal attempts during the preseason, including one from 59 yards. Not certain yet whether he'll kick against Joseph this week or replaces Joseph on the 53. https://t.co/sTyDg2CRtl
— Tom Silverstein (@TomSilverstein) August 28, 2024
The fact that Green Bay brought in another kicker after roster cutdown day, shows that they aren’t ready to hand the job over to Joseph. The veteran kicker had a good preseason, making 3-of-4 field goals, including a perfect 2-for-2 in Green Bay’s final game against the Baltimore Ravens.
At the same time, its rare for a team to carry two kickers on their 53-man roster to start a season. Therefore, it appears Joseph could be on his way out of Green Bay, which would be a bold move by the team's front office.
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