Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said earlier this week that the Packers would open up a kicking competition between Brandon McManus and Lucas Havrisik, but special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia apparently never got the memo. LaFleur, who boasted that he didnât talk to kickers a few weeks ago, may have spoken out of turn when he made that statement.
When asked about who would start at kicker against the Philadelphia Eagles this week, Bisaccia quickly replied that it would be McManus. When pressed about how LaFleur said it would be a competition, Bisaccia responded by saying, âWell then, you can ask the head coach, but if youâre asking me, itâs Brandon McManus. I didnât see it as a competition this week. I saw this as heâs getting healthier and had a pretty good week kicking the ball.â
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So far in 2025, McManus, who has been dealing with a quad injury, has been performing like one of the worst kickers in the NFL who remains employed, going just 3 of 8 on field goal attempts outside of the red zone. Notably, the Packers are also the only NFL team that rosters multiple kickers on their 53-man roster, which theyâve done so now for a month.
When pressed about how much confidence he has in McManus, Bisaccia said, âWhy not have confidence in Brandon? People miss kicks. People miss tackles. People miss throws. People miss catches. People miss blocks. He missed a kick in the game.â
Since McManus returned from injury two weeks ago, heâs missed three field goals over two games. Until he proves to return to the consistency that he showed in the 2024 season, when he was 20 on 21 on field goals and 30 for 30 on extra points, this cloud will loom around the Packersâ special teams unit.
