No, It's Not Time To Worry About Brandon McManus

After missing two games with a quad injury, Green Bay Packers kicker Brandon McManus returned on Sunday night. He missed a pair of field-goal attempts and made two others — not great numbers. Despite that, it's not time to hit the panic button.

McManus' first attempt came from 57 yards at the start of the second quarter. It fell short.

In a day and age in football where kickers are routinely proficient from 50-plus yards, seeing McManus come up short, albeit from 57 yards, was somewhat puzzling. For those who want to consider weather as an issue, note that Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell went four for four on field-goal attempts, including a 56-yarder.

Later in the first half, on what would be the final play of the second quarter, McManus hooked a 44-yard attempt wide left.

If for nothing more than his mental makeup, McManus connecting on kicks of 25 and 28 yards in the second half could be a good omen moving forward. And moving forward with McManus is exactly what Green Bay will be doing. It makes all the sense in the world.

Green Bay went through the Anders Carlson and Brayden Narveson roller coaster rides in recent seasons. This is not that — at least, certainly not yet.

Carlson came in as a rookie and struggled from the jump, and that included extra-point tries. Narveson was also a rookie when he came in and missed five field-goal attempts in just six games before the Packers let him go.

In two years with Green Bay since coming over last season, McManus is 44 for 45 on PAT attempts. Carlson missed five in his one year in Green Bay. Typically, you can treat the extra point as a time to refill your drink or grab a snack. When Carlson was with the Packers, watching PAT tries was appointment television.

McManus has been around the block, and he's gone through some struggles. Detractors will point out that he's now missed four attempts this season. But he only missed one kick in 2024. The larger sample size suggests it would be silly to part ways with McManus at this point. The main reason some fans are getting antsy is that Lucas Havrisik is still on the roster.

Havrisik was nails in McManus’ absence. Still, don’t forget that the only reason he was available in the first place was because in 2023, his last time in NFL action, he missed five field-goal attempts and three PATs in nine games.

The kicking game can be a toxic environment. McManus’ return on Sunday night wasn't a great showing, but it'd be more than premature to pull the plug at this point. Keep in mind the Packers dished out a three-year, $15.3 million extension to him in the offseason.

Asked about his kicker after the game, head coach Matt LaFleur

The Packers opted to keep Havrisik on the 53-man roster, which is certainly noteworthy. Not many teams roll with two kickers. However, it's more likely the reason is the uncertainty about McManus returning to 100% following his quad injury, rather than doubt about their kicker. It's important to separate the two ideas.

If McManus’ struggles persist, then, sure, have that conversation. As for Sunday night? Chalk it up to a kicker coming off a quad injury who saw his temporary replacement perform flawlessly in two outings and may have rushed himself back into action at least a tad.

McManus coming up short from 57 yards is the perfect example. He’s always been known for having a lethal boot. Are we to believe in the snap of a finger (or the tweak of a quad), he all of a sudden lost his power? Or is it possible that he isn't completely trusting the quad yet and doesn't have full power in the swing of his right leg?

There’s really no reason to think it’s the former. Now is not the time to panic about McManus.