The Green Bay Packers made some significant changes to their team prior to the 2023 NFL season. Of course, the most high-profile of these changes was trading four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets in order to allow Jordan Love to take over as the starting quarterback.
That move to get younger at the starting quarterback position, though, was far from the only one of its kind. Green Bay also allowed four significant veteran pass catchers to leave as well. Wide receivers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb followed Rodgers to the Jets while tight ends Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis both signed with the Chicago Bears.
All four were replaced by rookies. All four were outperformed by their replacements in 2023:
| Position | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends | ||
| Players | Jayden Reed &Dontayvion Wicks | Allen Lazard & Randall Cobb | Luke Musgrave & Tucker Kraft | Robert Tonyan & Marcedes Lewis |
| Receptions | 123 | 28 | 65 | 15 |
| Yards | 1,374 | 350 | 707 | 141 |
| Touchdowns | 12 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
As seen above and based on Love’s fantastic first season as the Packers starting quarterback, Green Bay made a lot of good decisions in terms of which players to move on from.
That is, except for at one crucial position.
The Green Bay Packers Replaced Kicker Mason Crosby with Anders Carlson
Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.
In 2022, Crosby made 25/29 of his field goal attempts (86.2%) and was 37/39 on extra point attempts (94.9%). However, he was obviously losing some length on his kickoffs. Despite being a beloved fan-favorite and the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, Green Bay decided not to re-sign him for 2023.
Instead, the Packers drafted Anders Carlson in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft to be his replacement. Everyone knew that Carlson was going to be a work-in-progress, but Green Bay severely overestimated their abilities to help him get right.
Carlson ended the 2023 season with an 81.8% field goal percentage and 87.2% extra point percentage. He also missed at least one kick in 10 of the Packers’ final 12 games, including in the NFL Playoffs.
Green Bay Packers Kicker Anders Carlson Is in Serious Danger of Losing His Job
The big mistake that Green Bay made last offseason was not bringing in any competition for Carlson. He was just handed the job outright.
This year, the Packers have brought in three different kickers to compete for the starting job. After weeks of OTA’s and a few days of training camp, Greg Joseph is the only remaining challenger for the job.
And he may just win it.
According to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, Joseph is starting pull away from Carlson:
Joseph and Carlson both good from 58 to finish practice.
Tally after Day 9:
Joseph: 29/31
Carlson: 25/31 https://t.co/vhPtvqXs4y
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 1, 2024
Per Schneidman, Carlson was 4/7 on kicks on Thursday while Joseph was a perfect 7/7. Carlson’s misses were from 45, 47, and 49 yards.
The kicking competition on Family Night is going to determine a lot.
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