Being an NFL kicker is mostly a thankless job. It seems that most of the time kickers are remembered for their misses much more than their makes. That is exactly the case for Green Bay Packers kicker Anders Carlson following an inconsistent rookie season in 2023.
Carlson led the NFL in missed kicks last season with 11 (six field goals, five extra points). The misses continued in the playoffs, where he shanked a crucial field goal late in the fourth quarter of Green Bay’s playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
It surprised some that the Packers stuck with Carlson throughout the season. His Green Bay teammates and coaches showed their support for Carlson after the playoff miss, but the expectation is that his leash will be short in 2024.
“There’s gonna need to be a curve of getting better if that’s gonna continue,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said, per Matt Schneidman.
That is a significant change in tone from what Gutekunst said a few weeks ago when he backed keeping Carlson as the Packers made a playoff run.
“I think as we got towards the end of the season and we were headed towards the playoffs and had an opportunity to be in the playoffs, certainly something that if there was a veteran option out there that would have been really good, then maybe we would have considered it. But there wasn’t. He was the best option, by far,” Gutekunst said.
“We’re really excited by where he’s going.”
The Packers used a sixth-round draft pick on Carlson last year, one of 10 kickers selected in the last five years. Half of them are no longer with the team that drafted them.
Anders Carlson could end up being the next kicking casualty if he doesn’t show significant improvement.
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