Packers find stability at kicker, re-signing Brandon McManus

Paul Bretl | 3/4/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers finally have some long-term stability at the kicker position.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Packers and pending free agent Brandon McManus have agreed to a three-year deal worth $15.3 million, including a $5 million signing bonus.

While each free agency period can come with its obvious uncertainties, whether or not the Packers were going to re-sign McManus wasn’t one of those instances.

“We’d love to,” GM Brian Gutekunst said of bringing McManus back at the NFL combine. “We’re working towards that end. We’ll see where that goes.”

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The Packers signed McManus in late-October and he suited up immediately that week to face the Houston Texans in Week 7 at Lambeau Field, a game that ended with McManus putting a game-winning kick through the uprights, followed by a Lambeau Leap.

McManus finished the season making all 31 of his extra point attempts, and he was 21-for-23 on field goal attempts, including going 6-for-7 from 40-plus yards. Among qualified kickers this season who had at least nine field goal attempts, McManus’ 91.3% hit-rate was the eighth-best mark in football. He was also 1-of-14 kickers to make all of his extra point attempts.

“Obviously he’s a veteran guy,” Gutekunst said after the season. “I think the thing that was so neat about being around him is not only his confidence but his ability to adjust no matter where we were. Really our specialists group with Matt (Orzech) and Daniel (Whelan) and if we were able to get Brandon back, I think certainly that would make me feel very, very, very good about that group.”

That ‘journey’ that Gutekunst referred to was the Packers’ search for a reliable kicker. Prior to McManus joining the team, the Packers had six different kickers on the roster in some capacity since January of 2024. While the Packers turned over just about every rock that they could in search of an answer at the kicker position, the results they were looking for were nowhere to be found until McManus arrived.

Looking at McManus’ career kicking numbers, those figures probably aren’t going to leap off the page as he’s made 82.6% of his total attempts. However, where he’s thrived is one those kicks you expect your kicker to make. On field goal attempts from under 50 yards, McManus has made 91.2% of his career attempts.

He also has big game experience as well. During the Denver Broncos’ 2015 playoff run to a Super Bowl, McManus was a part of that team and went 10-for-10 on field goal attempts in the postseason.

There’s a confidence that this Packers team has in him when he’s on the field. So much so that, at one point, LaFleur mentioned not even paying much attention anymore to the field goal attempts, knowing that they would be made.

“You can definitely feel it,” said McManus last season of the confidence the team has in him. “The coaches, too. They have to put me in that situation to attempt it, and obviously the players are comfortable with me doing that, too. A coach might not put me out there if he knows the players don’t have faith in me. Each and every day I’m out there at practice, I’m there to prove myself to them. Consistency is key in this league and you don’t have a job long if you’re not consistent. I just go at it every day to improve my consistency.”

Having been in the NFL since 2014, there probably aren’t many who were better prepared than McManus to come in off the street midseason and be asked to make a game-winner a few days later, as he did against Houston. However, while he did everything he could to stay ready while he was unsigned, there is still a learning curve that comes for the entire field goal operation when a new kicker arrives.

One thing we’ve learned about McManus is that he’s very particular about how he wants the ball placed. That not only includes which way the laces are facing but also the tilt of the ball, and both of those aspects can change based on where on the field the field goal attempt is coming from. And then there is the timing component to with Whelan as the holder that factors in as well.

But because of the experience McManus had under his belt before joining Green Bay, he knew exactly how he wanted things done. This then helped make things easier for Whelan and long-snapper Matt Orzech since there was no gray area in how they went about their jobs. The two knew exactly what was needed and what McManus wanted. From there, it was just all about repetition and getting comfortable as a unit.

“It’s been great from the beginning,” said McManus of the field goal operation. “They just had to learn me. Matt’s job doesn’t necessarily change, but certainly Danny’s does. But they’ve both been phenomenal, understanding what I like. It’s not the most favorable conditions here, so learning the winds and where the ball is leaning and where the laces need to be pointed because I’m trying to hit that back seam of the ball so it holds that line to fight the winds, stuff like that, he’s been great learning that.”

Replacing Mason Crosby has proven to be quite a challenge for the Packers, especailly as they tried to go with younger options at a position that often takes time for players to hit their stride. But the experienced McManus provided that stabilizing force and better aligns with where this Packers team is right now, which is ready to compete for championships rather than willing to endure the growing pains that comes with inexperience.

“When I got the call to come here to Green Bay, I was super excited,” McManus said. “It’s been 10 years since I’ve been back in the playoffs so I would love to help with some unfinished business here with this team and whatever happens after that, I’m excited for the next chapter. It’s been great. My wife and kids enjoyed coming up here and experiencing it. I keep saying how nostalgic this city is and this area is, so it’s been awesome being part of it.”

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