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You’ve got to give credit to Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst.
In the span of two offseasons, he’s transitioned from Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love, while completely rebuilding the offense around Love and fortifying a defense that is stacked with first-round talent.
The Packers have a roster that can be good. Very good. Super Bowl good. That’s incredible considering last offseason some were wondering whether or not there would be a spark of life in the post-Rodgers era.
Now, the Packers have to go out and live up to their potential on the field, but just weeks away from a Sept. 6 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles in São Paulo, Brazil, the Pack still have one glaring weakness.
Green Bay’s kicker position is so volatile at the moment that the team brought in three (yes, three) more kickers to work out for an open roster spot the other day. That is telling on its own, but then consider the fact that there’s already a two-kicker battle brewing between second-year kicker and draft pick Anders Carlson and veteran kicker Greg Joseph, who the Packers brought in after he spent the past three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
Packers workout list. They have an open roster spot after waiving Eason.
K Jonathan Gariby
DE Andre Carter
CB Don Gardner
K James McCourt
DE Zach Morton
K Andre Szmyt
CB Josh Valentine-Turner https://t.co/uZgSuoITsm— Paul Bretl (@Paul_Bretl) August 5, 2024
The Packers’ brass is clearly not sold yet on either Carlson or Joseph, and there’s reason to be skeptical.
Carlson has a big leg but missed six field goals and five extra points last season. He was just 4-of-8 from 40-49 yards out and 3-of-5 from 50-plus. Joseph also missed six field goals last season and he did miss two extra points. It was his third season in Minnesota, but the Vikings clearly felt he wasn’t worth holding onto.
Those aren’t exactly two profiles in confident kicking, and with a Super Bowl potentially on the line, the Packers have to do everything they can in the next few weeks to shore this position up.
