More Appreciated Now Than Ever: Mason Crosby
Recent Packer struggles in the kicking department provide good reason to appreciate just how great Mason Crosby was
By Luke Leavitt
If you’re anything like me, in my 25 years of being a Green Bay Packers fan, kicking woes were never very common. One man would be the sole reasoning to that sentiment, Mason Crosby. In a league where kickers frequently come and go like wind gusts over Lambeau Field, Mason Crosby represented dependability for 16 seasons.
Not only did Crosby capture the Packers' kicking position as a rookie after being selected in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft, he never relinquished it. He was one of the most significant players in team history because of his longevity, reliability, and capacity to perform well under pressure.
Examine the times when everything was at stake if you want to comprehend Crosby's excellence.
His most memorable performance was against the Dallas Cowboys in the 2016 NFC Divisional Round. Crosby scored two field goals of 50 yards or more in the last two minutes, including a game-winning 51-yard shot as time ran out, with the season on the line.
Crosby would compile moments in Packers history that showed pure guts. Whether it was his game-winning kick to keep the Packers undefeated (12-0, 18 in a row overall) in 2011 with a 38-35 win at a cold MetLife Stadium vs the New York Giants. Or his 49-yard game-winning kick as the time ran out vs the San Francisco 49ers in 2021. Completing an improbable 37 second, no time out game winning drive by Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, and company.
What has seemed to elude Green Bay in the succeeding years, game-altering missed kicks have helped Green Bay lose playoff games in 2023 (49ers), 2024 (Eagles), and now 2025 (Bears). The Packers, in search of that killer mentality as a collective group, especially need it from their kicker.
The all-time leading points leader, field goals, and extra points made in Packers history. Despite a difficult 2012 season, Crosby would rebound in the next year with an 89.7% make rate (33-37 FGs). A characteristic trait that Packers kickers have lacked in, seeming to compile mistakes. Since 2023, four Packer kickers have started games.
Anders Carlson, Brayden Narveson, Brandon McManus, and Lucas Havrisik each have been relied upon at some point in the past few years. The position has become such a question mark, that Green Bay decided to use a draft pick for the first time since 2007 (Mason Crosby) on top 2026 kicking prospect Trey Smack.
Like Crosby, Trey Smack would be selected in the sixth round. After notably witnessing Colorado kicker Mason Crosby make a 58-yard field goal in the Orange Bowl, Packers scout (and future general manager) Brian Gutekunst recognized Crosby as a top potential. His exceptional leg strength and long-range field goal ability were commended by scouts.
Fast forward now 19 years, Trey Smack’s scouting report reads “Smack has a strong leg and can deliver beyond 50 yards at a high rate without having to drive balls with a lower trajectory. His repeatable process and consistent placement give him an above-average chance of making it in the league.”
Ted Thompson's eye for talent back in 2007 led to a Green Bay Packer all-time leader in points, and super bowl-winning kicker in Crosby. Perhaps history repeats itself in Trey Smack, hopefully resembling the player Green Bay had in Mason Crosby.
Mason Crosby retires a Packers legend—258 games, 1,918 pts, 395 FGs, all franchise records. Clutch kicks & a Super Bowl XLV ring. pic.twitter.com/2Wnp71QZdb
— Wisconsin Family (@Wisconsin_fam) March 7, 2025
Trey Smack was trained by former NFL kicker Matt Stover, who also was a mentor to Packers all-time leading scorer Mason Crosby.
— weston hodkiewicz (@WesHod) April 25, 2026
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Luke Leavitt is a Contributor for Cheesehead TV, covering the Green Bay Packers. A Manchester by the Sea, Massachussetts native, Luke is a lifelong Packer fan, and 16-year shareholder. Keep up with Luke on X @LukeLeavitt7
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Comments (32)
davekenya
May 03, 2026 at 10:51 am
I'm trying to figure out Gute's logic.
The scouting dep't determined that Smack should be drafted - to 'compete' with BM for kicking duties. Fine; good move. Smack kicked 'down south' in warm weather - it's less known how well he'll kick in cold weather. GB will learn zilch about this during training camp (it's still warm in July in GB and I've not read that GB recently sent Smack to Antarctica or Siberia this spring to test out how well he kicks in the cold). So GB will know nothing about Smack in this regard when they have to decide b/t BM and TS by end of training camp.
Gute not only drafted TS but traded 'up' to get him. It was clear he was going to draft this guy. So....
Why pay BM a $1M roster bonus March 13 and then draft TS on April 25? Insurance? For what? Again, what 'new' would be learned about TS?
Crosby entered camp as a sixth-round pick out of Colorado, tasked with unseating the incumbent, Dave Rayner. Crosby had typical rookie "tighten up" moments during drills, but his ability to rebound from misses impressed the coaching staff. By the end of summer training camp, his raw power and mental toughness won him the starting job, leading the Packers to release Rayner during the final roster cuts. (Crosby went on to make 31/39 FGs his rookie year - about 80%. Good; not great).
How will TS perform any differently during training camp? At worst, he'll miss some (like Crosby) and 'have nerves' (like Crosby). So do they cut him and keep BM? If so, why did you draft him then? If you're going to keep TS 'no matter what', then why pay BM 1M a month before drafting TS?
That 'paltry' 1M is the difference between keeping RB wilson (2026 cap number with 'Hawks is 1.6M) instead of Brooks (2026 cap number 1.8M). We could've kept Wilson over Brooks (rationale at time was 'we'd save cap money') but instead are tossing away 1M bonus to BM for ... what?
Like I said, I'm just scratching my head. All I know is, I would not teach my kids money management using this as the prototype....
I have a sneaky suspicion that this really isn't an open kicking competition; that it's BM's job to lose. If he's deemed fully recovered from last season's injuries and kicks well-enough in training camp, they keep him and 'eat' wasting 2 7th rounders on TS...so I guess I'm tempering down the TS is the guy talk for now...
barutanseijin
May 03, 2026 at 11:30 am
Was it your million?
You might have a plan to draft a kicker but what if someone snags your guy a round ahead of what you were expecting. The roster bonus was insurance.
I might have cut McManus a long time ago with the thought that at the very least, a replacement level free agent kicker would be available. I’m not the GM, so that’s not what happened.
Coldworld
May 03, 2026 at 11:39 am
According to Gute, it was the new STC Cam Achord who highlighted and pushed for Smack. "Certainly, we thought he was the best kicker in the draft. Cam had a very strong opinion about that, as did I, and I felt fortunate to be able to acquire him."
I think you have to back your (well, LaFleur’s) chosen coordinator and hope he justifies it.
Since'75
May 03, 2026 at 06:56 pm
A million in the NFL, is like $25 - $100 to one of us.
I'll never rip the GM after the draft, until i see the results, it's the right, and only thing to do.
I don't read (waste my time) draft grades after the draft, and i let the draft picks show themselves, on the NFL field.
Then......its fair game.
Critique when deserved, credit when due.
Nobody won in the draft (GM's, or expert talking heads), until the players strap it on.
Cheezehead72
May 04, 2026 at 06:41 am
They gave BM the million because that was before the draft. A GM never knows how the draft will go. BG did not know he would get the kicker he wanted. They have to have a kicker. There is a good chance that we will trade BM and get at least a 7th for him.
As for Smack kicking in the cold, it not like it turns cold over night. He will be practicing as the weather gets cold. Yes he might have issues the first year but he will learn. BM did not kick very well in the cold. There was a big difference between BM and Santos last year. Santos grew up in Brazil and Florida and went to college in Tulane. Yes he has kicked in the cold for some time but he learned to do it when he went to the Chiefs.
TKWorldWide
May 04, 2026 at 06:49 am
Has Trey shown the ability to bounce back in college? Come back after a tough miss, block out the noise, and succeed?
Will they put extra emphasis on the competition between kickers in TC this summer to get a feel for the ability to succeed under pressure? I mean, try to create pressure situations? Like if Trey misses this next kick, all the players with odd numbered jerseys lose their snack shack privileges? (Only partly kidding here.)
WestCoastPackerBacker
May 04, 2026 at 11:08 am
Keeping McManus and bringing in competition for that position is the best way to work towards improvement. It was no guarantee they would get Smack; another team could have picked him in the 5th round or early in the 6th. So you pay the million as insurance but draft a guy you think might be the future at the position. As far as kicking in cold weather, isn’t the biggest factor leg strength, which is what Smack is known for? What’s the alternative? Sign a guy who kicked in cold weather but wasn’t as good of a kicker overall? I don’t think so.
On Wilson, he might not have wanted to sign with GB; he may have wanted a chance to start or get more playing time in a true rotation which he never had in GB.
Complaining about the GM creating competition in a spot that lost them key games is a bit strange. And it came cheap. The two 7th rounders would have struggled to even make the roster and they may have picked up UDFAs they would have spent those picks on. Seems to me to be something to be excited about that they are trying to fix STs.
BuckyBadger
May 04, 2026 at 02:00 pm
Cold isn't a huge factor and effects just about everyone the same. If the kid can win the competition in camp he will be good enough to adjust in the weather. The kid has the leg to make it happen.
GreenandBold
May 03, 2026 at 11:34 am
Smack grew up in Maryland and has kicked in cold weather even in the snow . Wilson was seeking a starting job which was impossible in Green Bay considering Josh Jacobs is still on the roster . He would’ve left for Seattle even if GB matched the offer . Smack says cold weather kicking is how he started out . I think Smack will be the Packers kicker Game 1 barring injury .
Coldworld
May 03, 2026 at 11:44 am
Maryland isn’t really that cold during the high school football season. Does that mean he can’t kick in cold weather? No, but it’s not a convincing basis from which to assert that he can. I think that there will be a learning curve.
Bitternotsour
May 03, 2026 at 12:12 pm
C'mon. It's not like he's being asked to stand outside in an unheated shanty on an iced over lake while waiting to kick. He's going to have a heated bench, a heater, every available comfort. He'll run out onto the field warm and adequately hydrated. His leg won't be weaker, his focus will be unaffected. What's the issue. He's a damn kicker. He's not an every down player. Cold affects those who are on the field (and in the stands).
Wind, sure, kicking in the wind could be an issue, but the other kicker in this scenario is also kicking in the cold and chances are he's not practicing in it. The kid either has the make up for the NFL or he doesn't, the weather has no bearing at all.
Swisch
May 03, 2026 at 05:34 pm
I think another important consideration when choosing a kicker is whether or not he assents to the Nicene Creed.
Just kidding, Bitternotsour.
All the best to you as fellow fans of the Packers.
Bitternotsour
May 03, 2026 at 09:26 pm
That was funny. Well done.
Lphill
May 04, 2026 at 06:47 am
Broncos were going to take him, other teams showed interest as well.
BuckyBadger
May 04, 2026 at 02:09 pm
People make too much of the snow. The field is heated and even if you grew up in WI you didn't kick much in the snow playing in HS. Even college is over before the snow hits. It will effect all these kickers the same until they do it in the NFL.
Oxymoron 3339
May 03, 2026 at 12:35 pm
The NFL has a different Ball and Narrower Goal Posts/Hash Marks.
I think that makes a bigger difference than the cold, but all are factors and a big reason why it’s hard to project who will be good/great and therefore why I’m generally not happy when my GM uses two picks on a Kicker.
packer132
May 03, 2026 at 01:06 pm
Packers traded two 7th round picks to get the best kicker in the draft when Green Bay has kicker problems? Pick #236 and #255. What is the chance either one of those would make the team and make a difference? Maybe 3%? I guess you should be the GM.
Oxymoron 3339
May 03, 2026 at 01:29 pm
3%? Rasheed Walker and Carrington Valentine we’re both 7th round picks.
We could have picked the same kicker with our first 7th round pick instead of wasting both picks on a kicker.
Swisch
May 03, 2026 at 05:30 pm
As a comparison, we'd have to list the free agents left over from draft day who have made the Packers and contributed on the field over the years.
Also, we really only gave up one extra seventh round draft pick for Smack. The other seventh-round picks we gave up was in exchange for the sixth-round pick we used to draft Smack -- so they kind of cancel out.
Anyway, good fans can disagree as to whether that was a good trade or not.
Swisch
May 03, 2026 at 04:43 pm
I'm in hearty agreement, packer132.
Kickers are like closers in baseball. They win and lose games in dramatic fashion. They change seasons. They can boost momentum big time.
Kickers can be the difference between making the playoffs or sitting home. They can put a team over the top in the playoffs all the way to a championship.
With time expiring, a kick smack dab in the middle of the goalposts can be the winning trey that makes all of the difference between agony and ecstasy.
Draft a kicker? A definite yes.
pantz_bURp
May 03, 2026 at 01:44 pm
Sure is better with K-Smack than Coach Ditka marrying Ricky Williams (what were they thinking? [ESPN August 9th issue]
P to the B
*people who pass gas in church sit in pews.
**Mason was/is a stand up guy.
Since'75
May 03, 2026 at 05:41 pm
The hell with it, ill give him a thumbs up for that disaster.
Sometimes....ya just got to look away...and be a friend.
pantz_bURp
May 03, 2026 at 06:17 pm
That's what she said. :)
Ferrari-Driver
May 03, 2026 at 04:20 pm
I've always appreciated Mason Crosby a great deal and it's hard to imagine Packer fans not liking a man who was great on the field and just as much of an asset to the community off the field.
Swisch
May 03, 2026 at 04:49 pm
I'd have Crosby on speed dial as a backup kicker this season.
I'd let McManus go right now so as to find a fresh start with another team.
The job is given to Trey Smack.
We can have a couple of other options just in case.
Since'75
May 03, 2026 at 05:33 pm
"in my 25 years of being a Green Bay Packers fan..."
Rookie!
JK 😏
Since'75
May 03, 2026 at 05:38 pm
I've been saying for many, many, many years.
Mostly concerning Favre and Rodgers (30 years).
Be grateful for what you had, when they're gone, the future might tell a different story.
The future....is today.
In Guter We Trust
Since'75
May 03, 2026 at 05:47 pm
"Not only did Crosby capture the Packers' kicking position as a rookie after being selected in the sixth round..."
Another late rounder from Big Ted.
********
Don't worry Guter, you got an extension, never give up, keep plugging away.
MitchAnthony
May 03, 2026 at 07:46 pm
Should Smack make the roster, and barring a complete camp meltdown he likely will, there is already a plan in place for cold weather development. He will be sent ice fishing with Charlie Berens and a member of the coaching staff, no shack, just outside. In between checking tip-ups he will be made to kick from varying distances on a frozen lake.
Probably won't happen soon enough to make folks happy but, good enough?
BuckyBadger
May 04, 2026 at 02:01 pm
Smack doesn't have any inside track on the job. He is a late round pick in a draft many GMs didn't think much of players in the 7th round. He will have to win the roster spot and if there is a kicker on another squad getting cut that might be better he will have to bet better than him as well.
SicSemperTyrannis
May 04, 2026 at 08:21 am
2023, sixth round, 207th pick overall, Packers drafted Anders Carlson.
I'm less surprised that one of our contributing authors made this mistake than I am that nobody else caught it.
BuckyBadger
May 04, 2026 at 02:07 pm
Bing had some real good years but he gave us some not so good ones as well beyond the 2012 season. He was a career 81% FG success rate, is good, not great.