GREEN BAY, Wis. — Given how last season ended for Anders Carlson, it was perhaps no surprise that on the final play of the Green Bay Packers’ offseason program, coach Matt LaFleur put his kicker in front of the entire team to try a 54-yard field goal.
And unlike when Carlson missed a 41-yarder that would have given the Packers a seven-point lead over the San Francisco 49ers with 6:18 left in the NFC divisional playoff game, this time Carlson drilled it — with teammates and coaches surrounding him, screaming and spraying him with water as he lined up the kick — to end the mandatory minicamp on Wednesday.
That the Packers carried all three kickers through the entire offseason suggests they haven’t forgotten that Carlson’s miss against the 49ers wasn’t a one-off blunder. Rather, it was his 10th missed kick in the final 12 games of the season, including the playoffs.
After an intense three-way competition this spring, the Packers haven’t ruled out a continuation when training camp begins on July 22.
“I think that’s to be determined, quite honestly,” LaFleur said at the close of minicamp. “We’ll see how it all plays out, and ultimately that’s going to be [GM Brian Gutekunst’s] decision. But that’s something that we’ve certainly talked about.”
For now, the Packers have three kickers, which begs the age-old question about quarterbacks: If they have three, do they even have one?Here’s a look at each of the kickers and where they stand heading into the summer break:
