GREEN BAY, Wis. — Given how final season ended for Anders Carlson, it was maybe no shock that on the ultimate play of the Inexperienced Bay Packers’ offseason program, coach Matt LaFleur put his kicker in entrance of the whole crew to attempt a 54-yard area objective.
And in contrast to when Carlson missed a 41-yarder that might have given the Packers a seven-point lead over the San Francisco 49ers with 6:18 left within the NFC divisional playoff recreation, this time Carlson drilled it — with teammates and coaches surrounding him, screaming and spraying him with water as he lined up the kick — to finish the obligatory minicamp on Wednesday.
However so did Greg Joseph proper earlier than him.
And so did Jack Podlesny proper earlier than that.
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That the Packers carried all three kickers by means of the whole offseason suggests they have not forgotten that Carlson’s miss towards the 49ers wasn’t a one-off blunder. Relatively, it was his tenth missed kick within the last 12 video games of the season, together with the playoffs.
After an intense three-way competitors this spring, the Packers have not dominated out a continuation when coaching camp begins on July 22.
“I feel that is to be decided, fairly truthfully,” LaFleur mentioned on the shut of minicamp. “We’ll see the way it all performs out, and finally that is going to be [GM Brian Gutekunst’s] resolution. However that is one thing that we have definitely talked about.”
For now, the Packers have three kickers, which begs the age-old query about quarterbacks: If they’ve three, do they even have one?
Here is a take a look at every of the kickers and the place they stand heading into the summer time break:
The incumbent: Anders Carlson
The Packers handed the job to Carlson final season. They did not even have one other kicker in coaching camp after Gutekunst used a sixth-round decide on him.
For some time, that regarded like a stable concept.
He did not miss a kick in his first 5 NFL video games and started drawing comparisons to his older brother, Daniel Carlson, the All-Professional kicker for the Las Vegas Raiders. He made his first seven area targets and all 10 of his additional factors over the primary 5 video games. Then he began lacking and lacking and lacking — 13 instances in all, together with the playoffs. He completed 29-of-35 (82.9%) on area targets and 41-of-48 (85.4%) on additional factors.
“Once I regarded [back] on the season … most of my misses had been sort of an analogous kick miss,” Carlson mentioned. “In order that’s, in a way, a superb factor as a result of it is one miss you could appropriate. So, simply particularly when that wind’s proper to left, simply ensuring that ball would not come left.”
Carlson completed this offseason strongly. He went 6-of-7 on area targets within the last offseason apply, along with his solely miss going vast proper from 44 yards. Simply earlier than making the 54-yarder, he nailed kicks of 51 and 49 yards.
“I feel Anders had a fairly stable spring,” LaFleur mentioned. “I feel all these guys have sort of had their moments, however I feel notably of late, he is executed a very nice job.”
In an effort to keep in a superb rhythm, he plans to maintain kicking in the course of the summer time break, which he’ll spend in Nashville, Tennessee. However he will not spend any of it worrying about having to compete for his job.
“I really feel good bodily,” Carlson mentioned.” Mentally, I am very process-driven and centered on what I can management.
The veteran: Greg Joseph
The Packers signed Joseph on March 28 after he spent the previous three seasons with the Vikings. It was one-year take care of no assured cash until he makes the opening day roster. At that time, he would earn a $117,500 roster bonus with a base wage of $1.125 million.
In 67 profession regular-season NFL video games, he has made 82.6% of his area targets (about the identical as Carlson’s 81.8%) and 90.1% of his additional factors (higher than Carlson’s 87.2%).
He hasn’t kicked notably effectively at Lambeau Area, making simply 3 of seven area targets in three video games as a member of the Vikings.
So why signal with the Packers?
“We preferred the chance,” Joseph mentioned.
Which presumably means he thought Carlson was on shaky floor or believed he may beat him out. Joseph completed the offseason program with an ideal day, hitting all seven of his kicks.
“I’ve nothing dangerous to say about any of them; all good guys,” Joseph mentioned of the competitors. “The group all will get alongside nice. All of us study from one another, push one another, and so on.”
Nevertheless, when it wasn’t Joseph’s flip to kick, he mentioned he would not maintain a detailed eye on the opposite two kickers.
“I simply determine to remain in my very own little world as a result of that is what I really feel do finest in a contest is simply worrying about me,” Joseph mentioned. “I do not understand how they’re doing; I solely understand how Greg Joseph is doing, and I will maintain it that method.”
The teenager: Jack Podlesny
Coincidentally, Podlesny had a short competitors with Joseph final summer time with the Vikings, who signed him as an undrafted free agent. Nevertheless, he was launched shortly after the preseason opener with out ever having kicked in that recreation.
The Packers signed him on Jan. 24, however their historical past goes again additional. He had a exercise in Inexperienced Bay in September however went unsigned by any crew in 2024.
When it grew to become an actual query whether or not he would ever get one other shot on the NFL, he started working along with his uncle, sanding and marking outside decks. In early January, he began in search of jobs.
“Actual jobs,” mentioned Podlesny, who needed to make use of his diploma in environmental science and public well being from Georgia to work in catastrophe administration.
As a substitute, he went again to kicking full time.
“However getting a name [from the Packers], figuring out, OK, I’ve obtained to organize, obtained to prepare, obtained to get in competitors type, as a result of after I obtained up right here, it wasn’t like I may work on issues,” he mentioned. “It is me and two different guys. That is competitors time. So simply coming in right here with an open thoughts, and no matter I can do to compete at my finest, that was what I used to be going to do.”
Podlesny additionally completed the offseason robust, going 6-of-7 on the ultimate day along with his solely miss from 51 yards.
When requested if he had any concept what the Packers have deliberate for coaching camp, he merely mentioned: “Nope.”
When instructed LaFleur mentioned it was to be decided, he mentioned: “That is how I view it in my head.”
“I really feel like I kicked effectively,” Podlesny mentioned. “There’s some days that really feel higher than others, however that is how it should be in any sport.”
