It's never a "sexy" move to sign a kicker, but few organizations in the NFL know how important it can be to have a good one like the Green Bay Packers do.
The reason being? This is an organization that has had incredible consistency at kicker in the persons of Ryan Longwell during the Brett Favre years and then Mason Crosby during the Aaron Rodgers years.
The Packers moved on from Crosby and had one heck of a time trying to replace him. They drafted a kicker in Anders Carlson and traded for another one in Brayden Narveson, but neither was consistent enough to help Green Bay make a Super Bowl run.
Enter veteran kicker Brandon McManus last October, who was brought in to replace Narveson. He had a bit of an off-field history but his on-field production over his 10 previous NFL seasons was always stellar.
That's who the Packers hoped they brought in when they signed McManus and that's who he was in 2024. He even won a few games for them. Ultimately, he completed 20 of 21 field goals and made all 30 of his extra points for the Packers during 11 regular season games.
He proved to be the missing piece Green bay's special teams needed, and the Packers plan to reward him with a brand new contract, a three-year deal worth $15.3M.
The Packers are now entering the 2025 season with the same kicker from the 2024 season, which is the first time that has happened since 2022 and Crosby's epic run.
Speaking of, Crosby just retired as a Packer, which goes to show you just how important a kicker can be in Green Bay.
