The Packers selected a kicker, Auburn’s Anders Carlson, in the sixth round of this year’s draft. That has led to plenty of justified speculation that Mason Crosby‘s tenure in Green Bay has come to an end, though GM Brian Gutekunst indicated that is not necessarily the case.
Gutekunst told reporters, including Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that he has not ruled out a new contract for Crosby — who is presently a free agent — and that he just “really liked” Carlson (Twitter link). Still, it would seem that only injury to, or underperformance from, Carlson and reserve/futures signee Parker White would open the door to a Crosby return, as Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com suggests.
Carlson, the younger brother of Raiders K Daniel Carlson, is the first kicker Green Bay has drafted since Crosby himself was selected in the sixth round of the 2007 draft. Crosby has operated as the club’s kicker ever since, though he has never received Pro Bowl or All-Pro honors. In 2022, his 86.2% field goal conversion rate was the fourth-highest mark of his career, but it was a middle-of-the-pack showing overall. He also made just one of four attempts from 50+ yards.
Anders Carlson, meanwhile, does not have a particularly notable college resume. Over five seasons with the Tigers, he made just 71.8% of his attempts, which included a 68.4% success rate across his last two collegiate years. He also sustained a torn ACL in November 2021, so he is not necessarily a surefire bet to make the Packers’ roster.
Gutekunst also said that he remains open to a reunion with safety Adrian Amos and that he has stayed in contact with Amos’ camp (Twitter link via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic). We heard last week that Darnell Savage would get the opportunity to reclaim his starting safety job, and even if he is successful in that regard, there is room for another backend defender to compete with the likes of Tarvarius Moore and Anthony Johnson Jr., who was added in the seventh round of the draft yesterday.
Amos garnered interest from the Ravens this offseason, but his free agency stay has otherwise been a quiet one. While he set a career-high with 102 tackles in 2022, he earned a poor 53.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which has generally been high on his work throughout the course of his career.
Wouldn’t be the worst idea if Packers brought in Robbie Gould.
He’s a perfect 10 for 10 on FGs against the Bears so I really hate that idea…lol.
Let them both go.
No thanks on Mason.
Gute: Hey Mason, we really respect you and um, would you accept a league minimum deal to come to camp and help teach your replacement? If he stinks it up or gets injured we’ll consider keeping you around then..unless we sign some other schlub at which point could you help teach him some stuff? Oh, and if you end up actually kicking for us again, we’re gonna need you to go ahead and forget your age, and be better on 50+ yard FG attempts. Hmmkay? Thanks!
Not sure why you would think the Packers organization or fans would have so little respect for Crosby. He’s possible HOF material and has certainly set the bar high for anyone who eventually replaces him.
Not sure why you think I think that.
Since you brought it up, I can tell you a LOT of fans, at different times, wanted GB to sign anyone other than Crosby. I don’t for a second believe the front office dislikes or lacks respect for him.
HOF Material? You mean like team HOF, right?
The only quality of Crosby is the fact he lasted a decade
He’s not HOF bound in any degree.
For me, it’s Cody Parkey
Crosby looks about done – as he can’t hit anything over 50 yards, which is pretty much something the rest of the league’s kickers can do in their sleep.