The Green Bay Packers Bungled the Release of Bradon McManus
By GilMartin
The Green Bay Packers did the right thing by releasing kicker Brandon McManus on Friday, they just did it a little too late. The team treated McManus fairly, giving him an opportunity to find another job with a different team before training camps opened across the league in July. But they could have done it sooner and saved the team more than $1 million and valuable cap space.
McManus knew he was likely on the way out of Green Bay when the Packers traded up to grab the final pick in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft to select Florida’s Trey Smack. Smack was considered the best kicker available in this year’s draft class. He hit 10-of-13 field goals from 50 yards or more during his college career, something that McManus had struggled with last season.
The Packers knew they were looking to replace McManus during the offseason. However, the team already paid McManus a $1 million roster bonus in March at the start of the new league year. That money could have been saved had the team been confident they would be able to add a kicker to replace McManus in the draft or via free agency.
In addition, by releasing McManus with a post-June 1st designation, they save $2.6 million off the cap as compared to keeping McManus on the roster. However, they also accrued a $2.6 million dead cap hit for 2026 for a player who will no longer be with the team.
McManus joined the Packers midway through the 2024 season. He was signed to replace the struggling Brayden Narveson, who had taken over for 2023 draft pick Anders Carlson. Carlson led the league in missed kicks in his only season with the Packers and never found the consistency he needed to stay in the league. Narveson also never managed to find his groove in Green Bay.
In 2024, McManus had an outstanding season. In his first two games with the team, he made the game winning kick in the closing seconds. He made 20-of-21 field goal tries and all 30 of his extra points for the season. McManus gave the Packers a reliable veteran kicker who could handle the difficult weather conditions in Green Bay.
But McManus struggled through an injury riddled and inconsistent season in 2025. He missed three games due to injury and probably should have sat out a few more. For the season, he made 24-of-30 field goals and 32-of-33 extra points. But his range suffered. From 40 yards out or more, he his only 6-of-12 kicks. In the modern NFL, 50 yards and in should be almost automatic for a kicker.
McManus also missed two field goals and an extra point in the Packers playoff loss to the Bears which they lost by four points.
To his credit, McManus handled his release with class. He posted a thank you to the Packers organization and fans. It read:
“From the moment I arrived, you welcomed me and my family with open arms and made us feel at home. The support, kindness, and passion you’ve shown mean more than words can express.
“The environment at Lambeau Field is truly incredible. There’s nothing like running out of that tunnel and seeing an entire community united by love for this team. The energy, the pride, the tradition – it’s something special.
“To be part of a franchise with such a rich history and tradition is an honor. The legacy of this organization inspires me every single day.
“Thank you for trusting me, believing in me, and giving me the chance to be part of something so special.”
McManus will now seek a job with another team. Meanwhile, Smack will battle Lucas Havrisik for the kicking job, but the job is clearly Smack’s to lose.
The Packers did the right thing by moving on from McManus. Had they done it sooner, however, they could have saved bonus money and cap space.
Now, they have to hope they have a reliable kicker on their roster for 2026. They will need one to compete for a Super Bowl this year and beyond.
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You can follow Gil Martin on Twitter @GilPackers
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Comments (50)
Packers0808
May 09, 2026 at 09:46 am
You never know could be they might need him again this season seeing no proved at present on roster!
Since'75
May 09, 2026 at 09:49 pm
Kids...Stay in school!
******
Oh relax, i gave him a thumbs up anyway. 😏
Packers0808
May 10, 2026 at 06:16 pm
Remember when I said before call McManus and got thumbs down galore and Gee the Packers called him and while he was winning he was great. You just another fickle fan or a any kind of fan at all?
Since'75
May 10, 2026 at 08:00 pm
I know, i know...
It'll be ok. 😊
*****
I don't have McManus's number 🤷♂️
Packers0808
May 11, 2026 at 06:29 pm
But everybody has yours a ZERO!
Since'75
May 11, 2026 at 11:19 pm
You're too smart for me, i surrender.
Packers0808
May 12, 2026 at 07:19 am
I know. Tell me something I didn't know.
Since'75
May 12, 2026 at 02:39 pm
Yes sir
".....they might need him again this season seeing no proved at present on roster!" - 0808
SMART
********
Don't be a stranger 👍
Packers0808
May 12, 2026 at 03:11 pm
Yup exactly what I said and meant. Yes very smart, at this point do you know better?
Since'75
May 13, 2026 at 06:33 am
Yup,
Yes,
*********
Never stop learning.
If you would like further lessons, simply reply to this post
Packers0808
May 13, 2026 at 06:51 am
Lessons in slowness, nope 80 years old and pups like you still squeal!
Since'75
May 13, 2026 at 02:42 pm
Lessons it is then!
Good choice!! 👍
dobber
May 09, 2026 at 09:48 am
"That money could have been saved had the team been confident they would be able to add a kicker to replace McManus in the draft or via free agency."
There's the operative statement: had the team been confident they would be able to add a kicker...
Until they did, they weren't. That $1M roster bonus is chump change in today's salary cap environment, and the net cap impact once they sign Smack would be nearly 0 (and that ignores the Jun. 1 designation). Quibbling over it for a player they feel is an improvement and long-term solution feels pretty weak.
...and this comes from someone who doesn't believe in drafting kickers.
LambeauPlain
May 09, 2026 at 11:45 am
Agree. Reading the article, I was looking for the "bungle part". Good grief...Gil apparently wanted the Packers to cut McManus in February without a decided replacement...to save a $million. This article is like a Seinfeld episode...entirely about NOTHING.
I can only imagine the howls and shrieks from the anti Gutey crowd had he done Gil's February cut. LOL!
NJ-RICK
May 09, 2026 at 09:55 am
Another classic move from a weak GM. I also can't believe they gave LVN a 5th year payment. This team will never improve with Gute as their GM.
Joemailman
May 09, 2026 at 10:12 am
When the bonus was due, they didn't know for sure they would be getting Smack in the draft. AS for whether he should have been released, I wouldn't be surprised if McManus saw the writing on the wall and asked for his release. If so, I can see where Gute might be willing to release the guy who blew a playoff game and now doesn't want to be here.
TarynsEyes
May 09, 2026 at 10:20 am
The things this FO does give new meaning to 'kicking one's own ass.'
Every move/decision is not of equal value of good/bad, but it always seems to allow a foot planted on the ass. This isn't a huge decision, but it still resonates with incompetence to some level.
Coldworld
May 09, 2026 at 10:21 am
Do we learn nothing then from the post Crosby debacle? Cut your kicker with no back up plan? Sorry, we paid Diggs 500k for one game as a back up. Paying 1 million to have insurance going into a draft class with few rated kickers and no obvious FA candidates seems like good sense insurance to me.
We spent a similar amount on UDFAs collectively, none of whom may make the roster and there is a good chance a couple don’t make the PS going off history, perhaps none do. In football terms it’s peanuts for peace of mind and, to add to that, the avoidable 1 million aside, most of the cap hit was already incurred through signing bonus.
Since'75
May 09, 2026 at 10:03 pm
As usual Dobber and CW come with the voice of reason.
I don't defend Guter often, but when it's a sound business decision concerning the GBP's, i'll say so.
I would guess that some other GM's around the league would have played it the same.
Of course....this is contingent on this draft pick succeeding, but isn't that always the case
********
As i mentioned recently.....
Guter has pissed away a lot more than 1 million. As CW said, it's peanuts.
Look at other teams dead cap money, a million is nothing
It used to be that some teams didn't want to be over 3 million in dead cap, the Packers being one of them
But Holy S....that has changed, hasn't it.
This is what happens when the salary cap grows and teams are swimming in hundreds of millions of dollars.
The thing with owning an NFL team in modern day....
It isn't that you won the lottery, you 'are' the lottery, handing out lottery winnings to players.
See Rashan Gary.
Since'61
May 09, 2026 at 10:36 am
Releasing McManus makes sense for both the Packers and McManus. McManus has a chance to sign on with another team and it has a negligible impact on the salary cap. In addition it relieves some stress on Smack in needing to compete with a veteran NFL kicker during TC. It also should boost Smack's confidence because it shows that the Packers believe he will make the team and hopefully become the Packers long term solution at Kicker. Win-win-win for everyone at this point. Thanks, Since '61
WestCoastPackerBacker
May 10, 2026 at 04:22 pm
I’m guessing it’s more about getting enough practice in for Smack. Having a kicking competition might be a good thing but having 3 sort of insures not enough kicks for all three.
PackfanNY
May 09, 2026 at 12:02 pm
I know finding topics to write about this time of year can be challenging but… $1m was a small price to pay to keep an option open depending on whether or not Gute could grab someone he thinks is better. He was able to grab his guy and release the veteran which can only help McManus land another job. Looks and sounds like win/win for all involved. Bungled? No.
Of course, drafting Smack is another separate issue. Gute has to be RIGHT. This is where they need to rely on him and his scouts. If he’s wrong he’s going to get ripped. Goes with the territory.
greengold
May 09, 2026 at 01:11 pm
Well said. Being without a signed Kicker is a problem until it’s not. Did Gil draw the short straw in having to write that one?
The brutality of the offseason rears its ugly head.
Snap the ball
May 09, 2026 at 12:06 pm
The Packers helped him out
Other teams stayed away after his deal with the flight attendant. If that happened at all anyway.
They paid him the million because that’s the new NFL.. just like paying Gary big bucks and he had one good year.
Should have kept Eric Wilson before Gary.
Anyway. He missed 2 fgs and extra point the cost us overtime …..well that’s if he makes it fg at the end of the game…………..
His body language always looked goofy and I don’t think he liked MLF to begin with or ever really wanted to be in Green Bay.
We paid him well when NOBODY ELSE WOULD SIGN HIM.
His career could have ended great here but missing a field goals and extra points probably got you out of town.
Was he hurt and played him anyway. Who knows.
49 ers playoff game. Cost us with that other guy. And the kid before MCManus wasn’t ready to kick in the SEC.
Like I said in other articles will come down to Smack and the guy who kick a record setting kick in Arizona which actually won that game . Without that kick we don’t make the playoffs probably.
Extra point in Bears games COME ON. DID YOU DO IT ON PURPOSE……..
Snap the ball
May 09, 2026 at 12:10 pm
No actually releasing him on Monday after the playoff loss makes more cents. Like one million
He will probably be with the jets or giants or some place next year we will play against him and probably will kick the longest fg in his life …
Bgordo1
May 09, 2026 at 12:23 pm
It’s a $1M big deal, they paid Diggs $500K to play 2 snaps. $1M is cushion $ and not impacting the team in anyway. Crafting a whole critical article around this move is ridiculous, this site has lost relevance over the years unfortunately. Bad content.
PhantomII
May 09, 2026 at 12:52 pm
GB bungled the playoffs by even using him instead of the other kicker who was uninjured in 2025-2026...and playing well...New contracts for everyone...you cannot make this stuff up.
GregC
May 09, 2026 at 01:46 pm
I forget how many kicks in a row McManus had made going into that playoff game. It was a bunch. There was no reason to anticipate the poor performance in Chicago.
PhantomII
May 10, 2026 at 09:35 am
He got froze out by the Bears and looked shaky...He did not recover...We had his Packers HISTORICAL 61 YARD field goal kicker in tow as his backup...Games 8-10 he kicked 50%..10+ he kicked well with a setback to his injury which means they brought him back weeks early for no real reason...but he did make the field goal that Chicago called time-out on...then promptly missed ...we have younger 2 kickers now....just another Pack post season fail...
Gute made a couple moves...maybe he makes another...hopefully a Vet TE...minimum...looks like this OL / C-G may fight for a starter spot...more welcome news...I think we have an Edge player or two step up...GPG
barutanseijin
May 09, 2026 at 06:15 pm
ClickBaitTV.com
WestCoastPackerBacker
May 10, 2026 at 04:24 pm
For realz.
CheeseEdWest2
May 09, 2026 at 06:41 pm
I would amend your headline/subhead along the lines of: Packers Bungle the Injury Management of Bradon McManus. They rushed him back, he wasn't ready, they may well have reinjured him. Then he paid the price. For many games he didn't look whole again...and the kid who was backing him up was doing fine. A longer look at his backup might have shown them they had two viable kickers, AND they could have let McManus heal AND they could have used those draft picks on someone else. Whatever motivated their player management moves, they didn't look good from here.
LambeauPlain
May 10, 2026 at 08:28 am
So you are saying that Bisaccia fellow, the kicker guru, truly didn't know what he was doing?
CheeseEdWest2
May 10, 2026 at 08:38 am
Limit to call-ups for the backup kicker? Trying to save money by not bringing him onto the 53? Seems political to me...
dobber
May 11, 2026 at 08:10 am
Havrisik was on the 53, not elevated, during that span. They cut him when they deemed McManus was ready and signed him to the PS.
TKWorldWide
May 09, 2026 at 07:31 pm
If Bradon asked to be released after the Smack selection, would we hear about it? Or is that part kept quiet?
What is so odd about having a real competition between them this summer? (Oh, and Havrisik too.) 😉🏈
Coldworld
May 10, 2026 at 07:31 am
Here’s one potential alternative contributing explanation. Had they had a McManus/Smack competition Havrisik would probably not have opportunities to grow. McManus was not going to stay unless he won the role, which was unlikely. This allows them to have a competition, develop both and probably still keep Havrisik as insurance if they want to. Despite being messed around, Havrisik was only marginally less effective in percentage terms than McManus was last year and might yet improve.
Since'75
May 09, 2026 at 09:37 pm
"They will need one to compete for a Super Bowl this year and beyond."
It's time to win Championships.
Since'75
May 09, 2026 at 09:46 pm
Silly season! 😛
*********
He was paid the million for a practical reason.
It was a business move.
It was relatively cheap insurance at the kicking position in the event they couldn't get their guy.
This was Guters decision, and imo, a logical decision.
EchoGirl
May 09, 2026 at 11:14 pm
My best guess, based on how abrupt of a pivot this is from what they were saying just a few days earlier, is that they planned to keep him through camp (as insurance if nothing else) and that he went to the team Wednesday or Thursday and asked to be released so he could find a team where he'd have a real chance to start. If they were planning on cutting him all along (or from the moment they got Smack), there's no reason for them to have pretended otherwise in the Wednesday press conferences, so some new factor must have come into the equation, and him asking to be cut seems like the most obvious possibility.
Lare
May 10, 2026 at 08:08 am
First of all, the title of the article is incorrect, it’s “Brandon” , not “Bradon”. Next, the Packers did what they had to do. It’s not their fault McManus missed kicks later last season. He gets paid to make kicks, he did not make kicks. And, he got paid well for his time in Green Bay. Time to move on.
BuckyBadger
May 10, 2026 at 08:14 am
If they knew 100% they where going to land Smack sure they could have released him but that wasn't the timeline. This complaining about a $1M bucks is just fans trying to find fault at every turn. I would bet behind closed door McManus asked to be released while the team wanted him to come in and compete. If he doesn't want to do that than he can hit the bricks, no one is going to lay out the red carpet for a 82% FG kicker.
BuckyBadger
May 10, 2026 at 08:17 am
"Smack will battle Lucas Havrisik for the kicking job, but the job is clearly Smack’s to lose."
Fans think small here and always think that it is just the 2 guys in camp in competition. Not at this position, you are competing against the people in your camp and every other kicker that might get cut from his camp as well. If they think there is someone better they will be brought in as well.
dobber
May 10, 2026 at 11:36 am
Well stated.
HarryHodag
May 10, 2026 at 08:28 am
First off, check the spelling of 'Brandon' in the headline.
Just another chance for the haters to stir up stuff.
The Packers had to pay the $1 mill, as I read it, because of contracts, rules, etc. They also didn't know they had a pro-level kicker until the opportunity arose in the draft and they pounced. If they knew they could draft Smack do you think they would have 'booted' McManus earlier? I think yes. They knew McM could compete at the pro level but he proved last fall he was slipping. Yes, he was 'injured', but he was slipping and more expensive than necessary. The short memories of most fans has them in the delusion that there are dozens of pro-level kickers just hanging around. There really aren't. Lucas H. has been hanging around the roster. If they had any confidence in him do you think they would have run out an injured McM if they didn't have to? Lucas H. reminds me of Jacob Monk. OK if you have to but there are better players out there. Burton was drafted to take the job now occupied by Monk who has been stepped over by Rhyan at center.
It is clear to me nothing was 'bungled'. They were going to keep McM around until a candidate they were confident in showed up and he did.
NitschkeFromTheGrave
May 10, 2026 at 10:02 am
A class act. I wish him well.
BuckyBadger
May 11, 2026 at 09:34 am
Class act? You do know why he was released from Jax right?
WestCoastPackerBacker
May 10, 2026 at 04:17 pm
Well Gil, if the 1M was due after they got Smack in the draft, they wouldn’t have paid it. But they could not know for certain at the time the roster bonus was due that they would be able to draft a guy who could be better. I don’t call that bungling. I call that insurance.
WestCoastPackerBacker
May 10, 2026 at 04:18 pm
Cheesehead TV bungled the name of the recently released kicker in the story headline.
MikeFlanaganStan
May 11, 2026 at 06:09 pm
Rare to find such an obvious case of someone falling for the sunk cost fallacy.