It’s been a long, strange season for Packers kicker Lucas Havrisik, who was, less than two months ago, set to take a substitute-teaching job in the Cleveland area when Green Bay kicker Brandon McManus suffered an injured quad and required a fill-in. Havrisik was called in to be that fill-in, and we know what happened from there.
Havrisik was excellent, converting all four of his field-goal attempts, including a Packers-record 61-yard try against Arizona, and all six of his extra points. Then McManus came back, though, and returned to his usual job. But McManus struggled, still was not healthy, and Havrisik got another shot. And he missed two of his three extra-point tries in Week 11 against the Giants.
Now, McManus is back and Havrisik was sent packing despite his efforts, cut by the Packers to make room for wide receiver Will Sheppard. But on Friday, with Havrisik having not gotten an opportunity to sign on elsewhere, the Packers brought him back, announcing he has been signed to the practice squad.
Packers Keeping the Faith in Brandon McManus
Still, kicking remains a concern for the Packers. The move of Havrisik to the practice squad sends the signal that McManus is there guy, something that coach Matt LaFleur has said all along. Earlier in the month, LaFleur raised eyebrows in saying that every position is a competition, but later walked that back. McManus is his kicker, when healthy.
Said LaFleur: “At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter—you’ve got to find a way to get it through the uprights. It was a challenge, there is no question about it. … We’ve got to be better all around him as well.”
Brandon McManus Has Veteran kicking Chops
McManus has had back-to-back clean weeks in the kicking game, knocking in a 45-yard field goal to open the scoring in Thursday’s win over the Lions, and making all four of his extra points. The previous week against the Vikings, McManus was perfect, too, making field goals of 30, 32 and 40 yards, as well as his lone extra-point try.
McManus, of course, was added last season when the Packers kicking game was entirely adrift following the surprise cutting of former sixth-round draft pick Anders Carlson at the end of training camp.
He is 34 and has 12 years in the NFL. LaFleur likes his experience and reliability, which includes an 81.6% field-goal conversion rate. He’s only at 71.4% this season, though.
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