From Day 1 of Green Bay Packers training camp to the final minutes of the preseason, Anders Carlson outkicked Greg Joseph. In 2023, when Carlson endured a rocky rookie season and Joseph kicked in the great indoors for the Minnesota Vikings, Carlson also outkicked Joseph.
Nonetheless, in a bold move during Tuesday’s roster cuts, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst gave the boot to Carlson, the kicker he selected in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft and rode all the way to playoff elimination.
The kicker – for now and, quite possibly, against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 6 in Brazil – is Joseph.
As one insider told Packers On SI, the waiver wire isn’t exactly overflowing with reliable veteran kickers. Here are the experienced kickers who were released on Tuesday.
Chad Ryland by the Patriots. Ryland made all five kicks (one field goal) in the preseason, but last year’s fourth-round pick made a league-worst 64.0 percent of his field-goal attempts as a rookie.
Lucas Havrisik by the Browns. Havrisik made all four kicks (one field goal) in the preseason, but he made just 75.0 percent of his field-goal attempts as a rookie for the Rams last year.
Matthew Wright by the Steelers. Wright made 1-of-2 kicks in the preseason (one field goal). In stints with the Steelers, Jaguars, Chiefs, Steelers again and Panthers, he’s made 85.1 percent of his field-goal attempts for his career but was 0-for-1 in his only game last year.
Austin Seibert by the Jets. A fifth-round pick in 2019, Seibert has made 80.4 percent of his field-goal attempts for his career. He played in one game for the Jets last year and four games total over the last two years.
The best street free agents:
Riley Patterson. Patterson in 39 games in three seasons has made 88.1 percent of his field-goal attempts and 95.9 percent of his point-after tries. He’s never been able to hold down a job, though, and was released by the Commanders after they acquired Cade York from the Browns in a trade last week.
Randy Bullock. The 34-year-old has made 83.4 percent of his field-goal attempts in 11 seasons. He kicked in six games for the Giants last year, going 5-of-6 on field goals and 10-of-10 on extra points.
Brett Maher. The 34-year-old, who had 62- and 63-yard field goals with the Cowboys in 2019 and 2019 and made 90.6 percent of his field goals in 2022, made just 73.9 percent of his field-goal tries when he replaced Havrisik for the Rams last year.
Brandon McManus. McManus signed a $3.6 million contract in free agency but is toxic due to legal issues.
From that group, one could argue that the best available kicker is Carlson.
Assuming the Packers don’t take a shot on another veteran, Joseph should be able to exhale. It was no secret the Packers wanted Carlson, the hand-picked successor to Mason Crosby, to win the job. That put the pressure on Joseph – who is no stranger to coming through in those situations with an NFL-record five game-winning field goals for the Vikings in 2022.
That big-kick history probably is a reason why he beat out Carlson.
“We’ll see,” Joseph said after ending the preseason with a 55-yard field goal against the Ravens. “I feel like everything I’ve put out there is I did without regret. I busted my butt, fought every day for this job and this team. The rest is a decision they’ll make.”
Joseph went into a rut late in training camp, which allowed Carlson to pull ahead in the competition. When Joseph missed his first kick during the joint practice against the Ravens, it could have spiraled.
It didn’t.
“In our line of work, whether you’re a quarterback, even a receiver if you drop one, you’ve got to have a short memory. You’ve got to be able to flush it,” Joseph said.
Flush it he did. He made his final four attempts in the practice and both field goals and his lone extra point in the game.
“That’s exactly it right there. Trying to exemplify it,” Joseph said. “One thing goes wrong, oh well, I can’t control it. Thank God it’s not life or death. It’s a football going through an upright. If it doesn’t happen, onto the next one, because the next one’s the most important one because I can’t change the past.”
