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Source: Brandon McManus, Packers agree to 1-year deal

Source: Brandon McManus, Packers agree to 1-year deal

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Perhaps the seventh kicker will be the appeal for the Green Bay Packers, who signed veteran Brandon McManus on Tuesday.

The two teams agreed to a one-year deal, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter, and McManus is expected to play in Sunday's game against the Houston Texans at Lambeau Field.

While the Packers only used one kicker, Brayden Narveson, in the first six games of this season, they have had six more on the roster since the end of last season. One of them, Alex Hale, remains on the practice squad.

Narveson, a rookie whom the Packers acquired from the Tennessee Titans in late August, has missed a league-high five field goal attempts this season, including a 44-yarder in Sunday's win over the Arizona Cardinals .

At the end of the preseason, the Packers initially retained Greg Joseph over last year's kicker Anders Carlson. They also had James Turner and Jack Podlesny on their 90-man offseason roster at various times.

Asked Monday if the team was considering a significant change this week, Packers coach Matt LaFleur said, “I wouldn't say that right now, no.” However, he said they would “take it day by day.” That was before the team faced McManus on Tuesday.

McManus, 33, spent last season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In his only season with the team, he made 30 of 37 field goal attempts and all 35 of his extra point attempts.

He signed a one-year, $3.6 million contract with the Washington Commanders in the offseason, but was released in early June after two women who worked as flight attendants on the charter airline that flew the Jaguars to London in September 2023 He had filed a lawsuit alleging sexual assault on the trip.

The NFL announced on September 30 that it had found insufficient evidence that McManus had violated the league's personal conduct policy. League spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement: “As new evidence is presented, it will be considered, as always.”

Tony Buzbee, an attorney representing the two women, told ESPN on Sept. 30 that the league did not interview his clients as part of its investigation. It was not immediately known whether the sides had spoken since then.

McManus is a career 81.4% field goal kicker. He spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Denver Broncos.

The Packers have been looking for a stable replacement since moving on from career scorer Mason Crosby after the 2022 season. In his final season with the Packers, Crosby made 86.2% of his field goals.

Last season, Carlson, a sixth-round pick in 2023, missed a total of 13 kicks, including field goals and extra points in the regular season and playoffs, the most of any kicker in the league.

According to a source, the Packers met with Narveson on Tuesday night and it was not immediately clear whether the team would try to keep two kickers on the roster.

Information provided by ESPN's Michael DiRocco was used in this report.

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