Cory's Corner: McManus Is A Cornerstone
The Packers are finally confident at the kicker position headed into the season for the first time since 2022.
I have to admit that I was on the fence about bringing in Brandon McManus to Green Bay. They brought him in on Oct. 16, 2024 and released Brayden Narveson because the kicking position was such a mess.
McManus proved me wrong by focusing on football by making 20 of 21 field goal attempts and nailing all 3o extra points. That behooved the Packers to give him a three-year, $15.3 million deal on March 4, 2025.
McManus, 34, is one of the cornerstone pieces as we enter the 2025 season. Now, I know you’re reading and going, “Cory, you’re nuts. How can a kicker be a cornerstone piece?” Well, he’s 15-for-15 in training camp, including a smattering of 50-yard field goals.
That’s a weapon in my book.
“I’m extremely grateful for the Green Bay Packers for giving me that next chance to come back out here and play the game I love,” said McManus this past October.
McManus has not only grown as a football player, but he has grown as a person. This chapter has been huge for McManus to focus on football and be the player that he always knew that he could be.
So whenever the Packers get within 55 yards of a field goal, opponents have to be concerned because they are on the doorstep of giving up a field goal.
It all started when the Packers picked Anders Carlson in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Carlson started the next season as the Packers kicker but after missing two field goals and three extra points in seven games, the Packers had seen enough. Green Bay brought in Greg Joseph and Ramiz Ahmed to compete for the job, before ultimately settling on McManus.
The goal is to score touchdowns, but you cannot leave points on the board when you’re trying to be the best team in the NFC.
And that’s why McManus is a cornerstone piece. When Carlson was the kicker, there was also a shred of doubt whether he would consistently split the uprights. That worry doesn’t exist anymore.
And that’s a big burden off the offense. They don’t have to get conservative when they get within scoring distance. They can still be aggressive and force defenses to play them straight up.
You can overlook kickers if you want, but McManus’ right leg will give the Packers at least two wins this year. And that’s why the Packers will be one of the best teams in the NFC. Games are won and lost on the margins and having a reliable kicker to pull out a win in a close game will make a huge difference.
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Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on "Clubhouse Live" and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn
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Comments (12)
Cheezehead72
July 29, 2025 at 07:18 am
First let me say that unlike Cory I was happy the Packers signed McManus. To me it was a no brainer after all things could not get worse or at least not much worse. They were able to try him out and yes it cost us a sizable contract but the kicker is important. Ask the Ravens.
I did a little research and found out that the average number of FG tries by a team per game is only 1.76. Last year the average was 2.05 per game with the Packers at 2.24 per game. I thought it would be higher. But if you try 2 per game that's 6 points not counting the extra points. So the kicker is responsible for 6 to lets say 10 points. That's substantial when 23.3% of the games are decided by 3 or fewer points.
BuckyBadger
July 29, 2025 at 07:43 am
The worry about McManus was never about his kicking but he has been known to be a headache. The obvious one with the Jags but there where also lots of rumors from his time in Denver of him being immature which was one of the reasons they let him go as well. Hopefully he has matured and keeps his nose clean.
Cheezehead72
July 29, 2025 at 07:58 am
Good points. I am sure what he went through was a humbling experience and now he realizes it can be taken away rather easily. This season is the season he can prove to everyone that he has matured.
LambeauPlain
July 29, 2025 at 09:37 am
"rumors from his time in Denver of him being immature which was one of the reasons they let him go as well."
Do you have a source for those "rumors"?
Denver released him in a post June cost saving move a year before his $17 M deal was up. That was after the disastrous 2022 season (5-12) that got Hackett fired after 15 games (4-11) and the Broncos had to do a deep rebuild. The team was mess. McManus still had a productive season but the Broncos knew they could not afford to keep him or offer him another $17 M deal.
Guam
July 29, 2025 at 07:44 am
I think Packer fans got spoiled by Mason Crosby and his reliability. We hadn't experienced kicker angst for a long time. When Crosby aged out and the Packers went through a parade of mediocre kickers, we fans were reminded of how valuable a reliable kicker can be. Welcome Brandon McManus! It is good to be back in a comfort zone with the Packer kicking game.
TXCHEESE
July 29, 2025 at 08:23 am
My thoughts exactly! Right now, the Packers have the best combination of punter and kicker that they've had in long, long time.
T7Steve
July 29, 2025 at 08:36 am
"McManus’ right leg will give the Packers at least two wins this year."
That's a big improvement over saying "I hope special teams don't lose us too many games this year? Not havening questions on at least 2/3rds of special teams going into the season hasn't happened for a while. The return game and blocking without penalties is the easiest to fix and work on.
Cheezehead72
July 29, 2025 at 08:40 am
One thing I got to thinking about is much of a kickers success is reliant on the long snapper. The Packers were fortunate to have two very good long snappers (Rob Davis and Brett Goode) from 1997 to 2017. It is interesting that these are the years we had Ryan Longwell and Mason Crosby.
jvole
July 29, 2025 at 08:46 am
Good to have a kicker you can trust....hopefully he has figured out that millions of dollars are better than kissing and grinding up against stewardesses.
LambeauPlain
July 29, 2025 at 09:28 am
It took him 3 years but Bisaccia finally got the kicking game straightened out...but I don't give him credit for McManus. That was Gutey swooping in and taking a chance on a kicker with an off field problem. As Gutey stated at the time, "he wouldn't have been available if not for the incident."
Bisaccia seems like a nice man, but while coaching below expectations all three years as a Packer, LaFluer promoted him to Assistant HC to start his second year. Following the 2024 season, LaFluer gave him a 2 year contract extension through 2026. Feels like a Joe Barry type of relationship.
Makes one wonder just how "rich" Rich would be today if he coached the Packers to be a top 10 ST squad during his tenure.
splitpea1
July 29, 2025 at 10:08 am
Can we dare to be optimistic about special teams this year? We have a competent kicker, good punter, and several new faces to help us both in coverage and the return game. I am expecting good things. No more excuses for Bisaccia--we have the personnel.
Oppy
July 30, 2025 at 07:03 am
My mantra last year was, "you can't spell McManus without 'ANUS' '' and I imagine it will be in 2025 as well.
Also, I don't think that's how the word behooved is implemented, but what do I know?