Earlier this week, it was reported that former Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby had announced his official retirement from the NFL. On Friday, he signed a one-day contract with the Packers to retire with the organization that selected him in the sixth round of the NFL Draft all the way back in 2007.
Crosby did not play in the NFL in 2024, instead hosting his own sports talk radio show on 1250 AM The Fan in Milwaukee (though he broadcasts from his home in Nashville, Tennessee). The last time he played in an NFL game was in 2023 when he kicked in three contests for the New York Giants late in the season.
Prior to that, of course, he spent 16 seasons as the Packers kicker. He is one of just four players in franchise history to have that long of a tenure. Aaron Rodgers was with Green Bay for 18 seasons, Brett Favre 16, and Bart Starr 16.
But as it turns out, Crosby may not have made it that long if it had not been for Hall of Fame cornerback Charles Woodson.
Former Green Bay Packers Kicker Mason Crosby Reveals How Charles Woodson Saved His Career
Wm. Glasheen
Back in 2012, Woodson was in his final season with the Packers. He played just seven games due to an injury, but was already established as one of the most respected veterans in the NFL, let alone in the Green Bay locker room.
Crosby, meanwhile, was in his sixth NFL season, and was not performing well. After posting a career-best (at that point) 85.7% field goal percentage in 2011, the future Packers all-time leading scorer made a woeful 63.6% of his field goal tries in 2012.
It was so bad that many fans, understandably, were calling on the team to move on from the embattled kicker.
According to Packers reporter Wes Hodkiewicz, Crosby credited Woodson for helping him snap out of his slump:
Asked Mason Crosby one last time about that infamous 2012 season & it produced a Charles Woodson anecdote I hadn’t heard before…
“Charles Woodson came up to me late in the year and was like, ‘Dude, are you trying to make kicks?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah?’ He’s like, ‘Stop it. Don’t try…
— Weston Hodkiewicz (@WesHod) March 7, 2025
“Charles Woodson came up to me late in the year and was like, ‘Dude, are you trying to make kicks?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah?’ He’s like, ‘Stop it. Don’t try to make the kick – just be you. Do your job. Do the process.’ “It was such a simple thing that kind of got me out of the slump. That was the moment and then I finished the year making some kicks.”
After his difficult 2012 season, Crosby made 89.2% of his field goals in 2013. In fact, from 2013 until his time with Green Bay came to an end in 2022, he made 84.7% of his field goal tries.
Add this anecdote to the list of many things for which Packers fans can thank the Hall of Fame cornerback.
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