The Green Bay Packers entered OTAs with three kickers on their 90-man roster. This unusual arrangement was designed for GM Brian Gutekunst to get some competition for Anders Carlson who led the NFL in missed kicks during his rookie season. He also missed a key field goal in the Packers playoff loss to the 49ers. So, the Pack signed veteran Greg Joseph and undrafted free agent Jack Podlesny as competition.
After the offseason program concluded, the Packers released Podlesny. But that doesn’t indicate that Gutekunst now has more confidence in Carlson or Joseph to be the team’s kicker in 2024. Almost immediately after the Packers released Podlesny, it was announced that the team tried to sign Jake Bates who was the All-UFL kicker. Bates instead signed with Detroit.
Then, the following day, the Packers announced they had signed James Turner who the Lions placed on waivers after they signed Bates.
Turner kicked for the national champion Michigan Wolverines last season after transferring from Louisville where he served as the team’s primary kicker for three seasons.
Turner made 65-of-66 extra points for Michigan last season while connecting on 18-of-21 field goals.
Like Carlson, Turner has a strong leg. He hit on 3-of-4 field goal tries from 50 or more yards last season. During his pro day earlier this year, he hit a field goal of 63 yards.
Now he has a chance to prove he can kick in the NFL as the Packers prepare for training camp.
Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia already indicated before OTAs started that the team could bring in more kickers before training camp started. His words turned out to be prophetic.
“It might be those three. It might be three other ones. I don’t know. It might be six,” Bisaccia told reporters. “We’re appreciative of Brian [Gutekunst] getting it to the point where it’s at right now, having a three-man competition. We’ll see how long we can keep that going. There are some things going on in a bunch of different leagues, so we’re going to keep investigating to try to end up with the best player we possibly can.”
Joseph survived OTAs and minicamp although clearly the Packers are not sold on him just yet either. The former Florida Atlantic star has put up solid numbers with the Vikings. Over the last three seasons, he made 82.6 percent of his field goals. Of course, all of his home games were played indoors so he never had to worry about the cold weather and swirling winds that he would face at Lambeau Field in the second half of the season.
The battle will continue into training camp and may even last into the regular season. The Packers invested a draft pick in Carlson, so ideally, they would like him to succeed, but they aren’t confident enough in him to stop bringing in more candidates for the job like Turner.
At the conclusion of minicamp, head coach Matt LaFleur said that Carlson had a “pretty solid spring.” That’s praise, but hardly a full-throated endorsement. “I think all these guys have kind of had their moments, but I think particularly of late, he’s done a really nice job,” LaFleur added.
Carlson is trying to follow in the footsteps of his brother, Daniel. The older Carlson brother was released by the Minnesota Vikings after missing several kicks in his rookie season against the Packers. He later signed with the Raiders and developed into an All-Pro kicker after an inconsistent start. His special teams coach with the Raiders was Bisaccia.
Anders Carlson has certainly spoken to his brother about his growth from an inconsistent rookie to one of the better kickers in the NFL. “He talked about his rookie year and things he’s learned from that,” Carlson said. “I think I have a lot to learn as well. It’s about learning from it, but also just kind of moving on and focusing on where you’re at now, being present where you’re at.”
Carlson hopes to follow in his brother’s footsteps. Meanwhile, the Packers hope to find the right kicker to help the team contend for a Super Bowl this season and beyond.
