The Green Bay Packers have made a series of roster moves in their final week of NFL training camp, including one with relevance to their kicking competition.
According to the team’s transaction wire, the Packers designated Australian rookie kicker Alex Hale as their International Player Pathway Program player and released defensive lineman Kenneth Odumegwu — their previous international player — in a corresponding move.
The Packers designating Hale as their international player essentially guarantees him a spot on their 16-man practice squad for the 2024 season. The designation allows Hale to join the practice squad without taking up a roster spot, allowing the Packers to keep 17 reserve players once they make their 53-man roster cuts next Tuesday, August 17.
The Packers also saw rookie running back Jarveon Howard clear the waiver wire and revert to their injured reserve list on Wednesday, one day after they waived him with an injury designation. The team will now either keep Howard on injured reserve for the entire 2024 season or eventually release him with an injury settlement later on.
The Packers signed fullback Henry Pearson to take Howard’s roster spot on August 20.
Packers Must Still Settle Starting Kicker Competiton
The Packers’ move with Hale allows them to develop him in the background of the 2024 season so that he might potentially compete for their starting kicker job in the future. In the meantime, though, the team must still figure out who will be their placekicker for Week 1 of the regular season: second-year Anders Carlson or veteran Greg Joseph.
The battle between Carlson and Joseph has endured all summer, but there has not been a clear winner throughout several weeks of camp practices. According to The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman and his unofficial tally, Carlson has gone 55-of-68 on field goal kicks (80.1%) in open-to-media practices while Joseph is behind him at 54-of-69 (78.3%).
Looking solely at preseason play, Carlson also holds the edge over Joseph. The former booted through both of his field goals and his lone extra points in the team’s preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns. Meanwhile, Joseph made a 35-yard field goal in the same game but missed wide right from 47 yards in the loss to the Denver Broncos.
Schneidman guessed in his August 21 mailbag that Carlson “will win the job, but there could be a quick change if he starts the season how he ended the last one.”
For the Packers fans who have forgotten — or blacked it out — Carlson missed a 41-yard field goal attempt in the team’s 24-21 divisional-round loss to the San Francisco 49ers in last season’s playoffs. He went 29-of-36 on field goals and 41-of-47 on extra points during his rookie season, forcing the Packers to bring in competition for 2024.
Can Nate McCrary Make Roster Case in Preseason Finale?
The Packers are in an interesting spot at running back when it comes to their preseason finale against the Baltimore Ravens on August 24. Josh Jacobs is unlikely to play much, if at all, depending on how the Packers use their starters. Behind him, AJ Dillon and MarShawn Lloyd are nursing injuries that could hold them out and Howard is now stuck on injured reserve, leaving just three other backs to take reps against the Ravens.
Could Nate McCrary seize the opportunity and win a 53-man roster spot with the Packers heading into the 2024 season?
The Packers signed McCrary to their roster on August 14 and got him a little run in their preseason loss to the Broncos with him rushing three times for 11 yards and catching both of his targets for 4 yards. According to Andy Herman of the Pack-A-Day podcast, he also took snaps with the first-team offense in practice this week amid the injuries.
If the Packers like what they’ve seen out of McCrary, they could look to run him much more against the Ravens as they attempt to figure out their best rushing options.
Of course, Emanuel Wilson will have something to say about McCrary’s chances for the 53-man roster. The 2023 undrafted rookie has the second-most rushing yards (108) and second-most carries (26) among all running backs in the 2024 preseason. He also scored a 5-yard touchdown in the Packers’ 23-10 win over the Browns.
The Packers also have Ellis Merriweather in the mix, but he has rushed 10 times for just 25 yards in two preseason performances and has three catches for a net loss of 1 yard.