Since arriving in Green Bay in 2007 Mason Crosby has been one of the most reliable kickers in the NFL. He has not missed a game for the Packers and has a lot of experience in making clutch field goals when the Packers needed them.
This offseason Crosby is a free agent. This past week Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst expressed interest in bringing back Crosby for another season. But is that a good idea to bring back Crosby after his performance last year?
The answer
The short answer would be yes. Absolutely. Bringing back Mason Crosby would be a good idea.
Why is it a good decision ?
Some might say we saw Crosby struggle making longer field goals (50 yards or more) last season and the stats do prove that. He was 1 of 4 on field goal attempts of at least 50 yards.
The only field goal he did make from 50 yards or more was when he made a 56 yard field goal that bounced off the crossbar and miraculously made it through the goal post.
But keep in mind Crosby had a knee injury that he had surgery on last offseason and that kept him out of the preseason. He managed to make it back for the regular season but his kicking strength wasn’t as strong as it was in previous seasons.
Crosby was still accurate last year making 25 out of 29 of his kicks.
No Other Options
Another reason why bringing back Crosby is a good idea is that there are not a lot of options if you do decide not to bring him back.
You can try to bring in a free agent or draft a kicker but the Packers learned last year that is a lot harder being said than done.
In the preseason the Packers brought in Gabe Brkic to handle kicking duties while Crosby was out and after one preseason game along with a horrible missed field goal the Packers decided to waive Brkic. The Packers then brought in Ramiz Ahmed, who performed well enough to be signed to the practice squad.
The Experience Factor
Crosby has been doing this for 16 years. You cannot replicate nor can you replace the experience that Crosby has.
He has also overcome a lot of obstacles during his 16 years as the Packers kicker. Crosby has had to rebound from seasons where he was inconsistent. He’s also shown that he can rebound from bad games where he’s missed multiple field goals.
Bottom line is this, having Mason Crosby back with the Packers means having a reliable kicker and someone who is accustomed to kicking at Lambeau Field. It also means having someone you can trust to make those clutch game winning kicks.
Having a new kicker come in and try to have the same reliability as Crosby had would take some time and the Packers would be starting from square one with their new kicker.
We don’t know how much Crosby has left in his leg but certainly bringing him back on maybe a 1 or 2 year deal would be smart for the Packers. Judging by General Manager Brian Gutekunst comments this past week, it does look like the team wants their kicker back for the 2023 season.
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