No position in recent years has been as unstable for the Green Bay Packers than kicker. From 2023 through 2025, four kickers have kicked in regular-season games. That's quite the contrast to the previous 16 years when the Packers from 2007 through 2022 had just one player kick in every game. Mason Crosby was the definition of stability and reliability. Finding his long-term replacement has been a major challenge in Green Bay, whether it's with a young player or a veteran. First, it was rookie Anders Carlson's shot. After one failed season, he was gone. Then, it was another rookie's turn. Brayden Narveson got a chance but he didn't last long. Then, Super Bowl winner Brandon McManus appeared to have the position on lockdown but he also eventually lost his way, couldn't make kicks in the playoffs and eventually lost his job. And not even a kicker who made the longest field goal in franchise history, Lucas Havrisik, could remain on the roster. All those experiments led the Packers to try again. They're doing it with Trey Smack, a kicker whom the Packers drafted this spring. The Florida product got off to a resounding start in the team's preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, going a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals. Could he become the next Mason Crosby and close that revolving door? Time will tell. Given another change at the position, let's take a look back at how we got here and where the team's former kickers are these days. Are any even still in the NFL? Here's an update on Carlson, Narveson, McManus and Havrisik:
Anders Carlson The Packers picked Carlson in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft after moving on from Crosby after 16 seasons. No kicker had more misses in the NFL than Carlson did during the 2023 season and he had one costly missed field goal during a playoff game loss to the San Francisco 49ers. That led the Packers to bring in multiple kickers during the ensuing offseason. And by the end of the 2024 training camp, Carlson was cut. Carlson went on to kick for the 49ers and New York Jets during the 2024 season. He signed a contract in 2025 with the Jets but was cut before training camp last season. Carlson, now 28 years old, kicked this spring with the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League. He split kicking duties with another kicker and went 6-for-9 on field goals.
Brayden Narveson Narveson is also no longer in the NFL and hasn't been since the Packers cut him. The Packers signed him after cutting Carlson ahead of the 2024 season. Narveson, then an undrafted rookie, had spent training camp with the Tennessee Titans. The Packers were intrigued by his big leg, but it went south very quickly. He only lasted six games after making just 70% of his field goals. He then tried the Canadian Football League in 2025. But Narveson, who turns 27 next month, didn't make the Edmonton Elks' roster and hasn't kicked anywhere since.
Brandon McManus After two rookies weren't the answer, the Packers went in a different direction with a veteran kicker. The Packers signed McManus ahead of a Week 7 game. Then 33, he had kicked in a Super Bowl and had 10 years of kicking in the NFL. His time with the Packers couldn't have started any better when he made game-winning field goals in each of his first two games. McManus went on to make 20 of 21 field goals that season. The Packers awarded him with a three-year contract extension that offseason. But McManus' next season was nothing like his first and it ended as badly as it could get. He battled through an injury during the regular season and then missed three total kicks – two field goals and an extra point – in a four-point playoff loss to the Chicago Bears. The Packers cut him after this year's draft with their selection of Smack. McManus isn't on an NFL roster during training camp.
Lucas Havrisik Havrisik was a fill-in and he did his job admirably. He even made a franchise-record 61-yard field goal while filling in for an injured McManus last season. In his first two games after he was signed off the street, he was 4-of-4 on field goals and 6-of-6 on extra points. He later missed two extra points under challenging conditions in his third game. When McManus returned from his injury, Havrisik was sent to the practice squad. Even with the selection of Smack, it appeared Havrisik would be on the roster for training camp to provide some competition. But the Packers cut him in July ahead of training camp. Havrisik, who turns 27 on Sept. 29, hasn't signed with any team during the preseason. Others Greg Joseph: The Packers signed the veteran to compete with Carlson in training camp in 2024. He kicked in multiple preseason games but he was cut, along with Carlson, at the end of training camp. He went on to kick with three teams in the 2024 season (New York Giants, Washington Commanders and New York Jets). But Joseph, now 32, hasn't kicked in the NFL since then.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Are any of Packers recent ex-kickers still in the NFL? Where they are