Here’s a surprise: Brandon McManus has signed a 1-year deal with the Packers. This has seemingly come out of nowhere, with McManus having been off the radar since March following sexual assault allegations. But now that the NFL has officially closed its investigation into McManus due to a lack of evidence, it’s opened the door for the free agent to sign with any franchise interested in him. The Packers, who have desperately needed a kicker for the past couple of seasons, have ultimately decided to step in and offer a contract — which McManus has accepted.

What Brandon McManus Can Bring to the Packers

Following the departure of the Packers’ all-time leading scorer Mason Crosby back in 2022, the Packers have struggled badly in the kicking department. It’s become an on-going joke among rival fans, with the Packers regularly getting ripped on X (previously known as Twitter) for struggling to find even just a replacement-level kicker over the past two years. But now, though, things could finally be about to change with the arrival of Brandon McManus.

Now that the news has broken about McManus heading down to the Bay, fan reaction has been mixed (and that’s putting it lightly). Some Packers fans have a “Well, it can’t be much worse than what we’ve had.” attitude, while others believe that this is yet another underwhelming kicker signing to add to the list. After all, McManus is now the seventh kicker to join the Packers since 2022, following flops like James Turner and Alex Hale. Throughout the 2024 season, the Packers have used only one kicker, Brayden Narveson, up until Week 6. However, after missing 5 of 17 field-goal attempts this season, Narveson is officially being replaced by McManus.

Whether this will be seventh time lucky for the Packers is now a hot topic of debate. Here’s a look at some important McManus stats to held shed some more insight:

• 81.4 Career FG %
• McManus made 30 out of 37 field goals and 35 of 35 extra point attempts for the Jaguars in the 2023 season
• McManus kicked in the cold for Denver from 2014 to 2022

On top of this, sports betting experts Gamble USA report that McManus also made 183 of 202 field goals from under 50 yards (91%) while playing for Denver, so the veteran is definitely capable of doing a respectable job for the Packers. And the fact that McManus spent close to a decade kicking in the cold will no doubt give Packers fans something else to be positive about, as he won’t struggle adapting to the harsh weather conditions at Lambeau Field.

Brandon McManus — The Best Option Available?

After a rocky start to the 2024 NFL season, it quickly became obvious by Week 6 that the Packers could no longer allow their never-ending kicker issue to continue. They needed to take action — and fast. After all, Brayden Narveson simply wasn’t cutting it and needed to be released. Ultimately, the Packers have decided to settle on McManus as his replacement, but many supporters are questioning whether he was truly the best kicker available.

The truth is that McManus is currently the best kicker signing that the Packers could hope for. Sure, he’s far from elite, but he’s certainly capable of doing the job required of him. Naturally, at 33 years of age, he’s also not going to be the long-term solution. However, if McManus is able to hit the ground running – with ESPN expecting him to play against the Texans in Week 7 –  then there’s no reason why he won’t be the main kicker for the Packers for at least a couple of seasons.

Before the signing of McManus was made public, some Packers fans were even calling for the return of Anders Carlson, who left back in August following roster cuts. The issue with Carlson, though, is that he was simply too unreliable for the Packers, famously missing a 41-yard field-goal attempt in last season’s NFC divisional-round playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers. Ironically, Carlson has now signed for the 49ers practice team, so a return was never a genuine prospect anyway. Instead, it’s now down to McManus, who will have heavy expectations on his shoulders this season.

Summary

The coming weeks will be interesting to see how Brandon McManus settles in with the Packers. If he underperforms, then it will be yet another one-season kicker flop for the Packers. But if McManus proves the doubters wrong and wins over Packers supporters, you can expect him to stick around for at least another season — especially if the Packers are able to go on a successful playoff run.