At least, the Packers will not need to answer the question here in the immediate. That’s because, on Wednesday before practice, coach Matt LaFleur said that injured kicker Brandon McManus won’t be kicking today, but rather, would go through his kicks on Thursday to figure out whether his injured quad is good enough to line up on Sunday and reclaim his old job.
“McManus, he will not be kicking today, he will kick tomorrow. At least that’s the plan as of right now,” LaFleur said.
But the question will need answering: Is McManus the team’s kicker from here on out? He has been reliable and helped the Packers usher themselves out of an ugly cycle of kicker sings-and-misses, highlighted by the use of a 2023 sixth-rounder on Anders Carlson, who was inconsistent and was released last season.
Now, though, there is a complicating factor, and LaFleur did not address this one: Lucas Havrisik, the fringe NFL-er who was set to take a job as a substitute teacher in Cleveland before being brought to Green Bay as an emergency fill-in.
Lucas Havrisik Has Done a ‘Hell of a Job’
If Havrisik had just been adequate in place of McManus, there would be no cause for discussion. But he has been a lot better than adequate, making all 10 of his kicks–four field goals and six extra points–including a clutch 39-yarder late in Week 6 to seal the win over the Bengals and the record-setting 61-yarder the team squeezed into the first half against the Cardinals.
It’s not enough that Havrisik has been perfect. He’s also now had the best kick in team history.
“How about that?” LaFleur said. “Franchise record. Hell of a job.”
Havrisik copped to not being entirely confident on that try. Remember, the Packers’ flight was severely delayed, which threw off everyone’s pregame rhythm.
“I didn’t have a great pregame, if I’m being honest,” Havrisik tsaid after the game. “You just gotta have confidence. My body didn’t feel great. It is what it is, but you can’t let stuff impact your brain. You gotta just trust what you do and all the preparation and how many times you’ve hit a rep.”
Packers Will Need to Choose a Kicker
Havrisik has been a Cinderella story, but now the Packers must decide whether to turn him back into a pumpkin–or, at least, whether they should allow him to go on and be a Cinderella elsewhere. McManus will get healthy, and Green Bay could move Havrisik to the practice squad, but there, he could–and surely will–be poached by another team.
McManus has been good this year, too, going seven-for-nine on field-goal tries and 10-for-11 on extra points. He is a polished veteran with 12 years in the NFL, and was excellent last season, going 20-for-21 on field goals and 30-for-30 on extra points.
Packers LaFleur Not Ready to Make the Call
LaFleur’s been putting off the McManus-Havrisik decision.
“That’s a hell of a question,” he said. “He’s answered every challenge that’s been put in front of him. We don’t win that game without his ability to go out there and make all his tries, his attempts. A 61-yarder, I didn’t envision that going into the game, but he’s done a hell of a job.”
He could keep doing that job in Green Bay. But only if the team is willing to axe McManus to do so.
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