GREEN BAY — From late May 2023 through the end of last season, Anders Carlson was the only kicker on the Packers’ roster.
Green Bay stuck with him through rookie season undulations that weren’t entirely unexpected. Carlson, a 2023 sixth-round pick and the brother of Raiders two-time All-Pro kicker Daniel Carlson, made 27 of 33 field-goal attempts last season. All six misses came from 40 yards or beyond, as he went 4 of 8 from 40-to-49 yards and 3 of 5 from 50-plus. However, Carlson led the NFL with four missed extra points (a costly fifth was blocked because of wing blocker Josiah Deguara in a four-point loss to the Steelers) and missed another crucial field goal attempt, this one from 41 yards in the fourth quarter, in a three-point Divisional Round loss to the 49ers.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Buy
Carlson missed a kick in nine of Green Bay’s final 12 games last season, playoffs included. As a result, the Packers signed former Georgia kicker Jack Podlesny, 24, to a reserve/futures deal and added veteran kicker Greg Joseph in free agency after he spent the past three seasons with the Vikings. The Packers hope competition brings out the best in Carlson, or at least produces a kicker who can be more consistent in 2024, no matter who it is.
Advertisement
“I think he’s done a nice job,” head coach Matt LaFleur said of Carlson responding to competition. “I think all those guys, there’s been highs and lows for all of them. I think it’s a very tight battle. You don’t really know until you start getting more into those high-pressure, game-like situations. It was cool to have a little bit more of that today being a two-minute situation and see how those guys responded.”
During Wednesday’s open OTA practice, Carlson hit 6 of 7 field-goal attempts. He made his first four from 41, 45, 47 and 49 yards before going 2 for 3 in three two-minute drills with two makes from 46 and a miss from 51. Podlesny, on the other hand, went 3 of 7 overall. He went 1 of 4 to start with a make from 44 and misses from 42, 46 and 50 followed by makes from 46 and 49 and a miss from 49 during the two-minute drills. Joseph didn’t kick in front of reporters on Wednesday.
Daniel Carlson, whom Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia coached with the Raiders from 2018-2021, was cut by the Vikings after his second career game after being a fifth-round pick and later became the league’s best kicker. Perhaps a similar rebound is in store for his younger brother.
“I think it’s something you embrace,” Carlson said of the competition. “I think when you’re in the NFL, you’re going to compete. Whether you see people in your building or not, it’s a competitive business. It’s all about staying in your own lane and being a good teammate and just trying to be the best.”
Carlson said when he examined his rookie season, he noticed that most of his field goal misses (he estimated five of his six) were wide left when the wind blew right to left. That included his miss from 63 yards at the end of the first half against the Lions on Thanksgiving, he said, which obviously wasn’t affected by wind in Detroit’s indoor stadium. Carlson said he was “a little too strong” on those kicks that drifted left with the wind blowing in that direction.
Advertisement
He’s had plenty of time to dwell on his pivotal miss against the 49ers, though he was adamant about turning the page this offseason. The coaching staff urged Carlson to focus on the entire season, not just his last kick. Carlson returned to Auburn this offseason with his brother to train. They stayed in an Airbnb and fine-tuned their mechanics while engaging in a competition that the younger Carlson said at times got a little heated.
GO DEEPER
Why Packers CB Jaire Alexander has changed entering the 2024 season
This spring’s competition has seen Bisaccia switch up combinations of who kicks on a given day. Sometimes it’s Carlson and Joseph. Another day, it’s Joseph and Podlesny. Just one of the three will kick on some days, too. Will all three make it to camp in late July?
“It might be those three. It might be three other ones. I don’t know. It might be six,” Bisaccia said. “We’re appreciative of certainly Brian (Gutekunst) getting it to the point where it’s at right now, having a three-man competition. We’ll see how long we can keep that going … there’s some things going on in a bunch of different leagues, right, that everyone’s about, so we’re going to keep investigating to try to end up with the best player we possibly can.”
Carlson’s success isn’t strictly determined by his right leg, however, and the Packers signed former Wisconsin long snapper Peter Bowden to compete with incumbent Matt Orzech, though Bisaccia said Orzech is “really good.” Punter Daniel Whelan doesn’t have competition after his first season in the league, for now, but Bisaccia didn’t sound like a coach who’s willing to let Whelan march into the season uncontested (that could alter plans at holder, too).
“I think we’re at the point where we haven’t really found another punter just yet,” Bisaccia said, adding he’d love to have two kickers, two punters and two long snappers in camp.
GO DEEPER
Packers' Christian Watson believes he's found answers for recurring hamstring woes
Don’t discount Joseph as part of the equation as the 29-year-old has been in the league since 2018. He’s a career 82.6-percent field-goal kicker and played in all 17 games for the Vikings in each of the last three seasons, making 83 of 101 field goal attempts over that stretch. That includes a 17-of-23 clip from 40-49 yards and a 15-of-26 mark from 50-plus, along with an underwhelming 112-of-124 clip on extra points.
Advertisement
“We’re just trying to get him to be a little bit better, right?” Bisaccia said of Joseph. “He’s been an indoor kicker now for a while, so being here is a little bit interesting. In our conversation with him, he hasn’t played well here, the two years I’ve been here. We blocked one, he missed one, so him playing in these conditions is a little bit different for him, as well. He’s got a tremendous leg. He’s got a great mindset, so it’s been a good competition to this point.”
Kicker might be the Packers’ biggest remaining question and an answer doesn’t appear imminent, which isn’t a surprise. As Bisaccia indicated, who the team trots out in Brazil come Week 1 might not even be on the roster right now.
The Packers’ ideal scenario is likely that Carlson, similar to his brother, puts early career gaffes in the past and becomes a staple in Green Bay. That’s a long way away, however, so buckle up for what could be a bumpy ride to get there.
(Top photo: John Fisher / Getty Images)
