Doug Pederson, Heath Farwell Explain Why the Jaguars Signed Brandon McManus

The veteran kicker is the new face in Jacksonville but has already made an impression on his new coaching staff.

Jacksonville Jaguars special teams coordinator Heath Farwell got a pleasant surprise last week: a phone call from Brandon McManus after his release from the Denver Broncos.

The call helped McManus become the Jaguars' new kicker, a move that surprised many after former Jaguars kicker Riley Patterson made one of the most important kicks in franchise history with a game-winner vs. the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card Round. 

But for as clutch as Patterson was in one of the biggest moments of the year, the Jaguars couldn't ignore McManus' experience and leg strength. Not after he expressed his desire to be a Jaguar. 

"We were excited to get him. I mean Riley did a fantastic job last season for us. He was a big part of some big games for us, one of the biggest games in Jaguar's history, but getting the opportunity to add Brandon -- Brandon, he had reached out to me," Jaguars special teams coordinator Heath Farwell said on Tuesday. 

"So it was a guy that wanted to play here. I think that just kind of gives you the picture of where the culture's gone when you have players that are free agents after getting released and say, Hey coach, I would love to play here. Just a testament of what Coach Pederson's done, what the overall team, what it's like to be here. So it's a guy that wanted to be here and then it was an opportunity to get better as a group."

McManus, a nine-year veteran, has appeared in 144 games since 2014, all with Denver. In his nine seasons, McManus has converted 81.4 percent (223-of-274) of his field goal attempts and his 40 made field goals of 50-plus yards are third most in the NFL over that time span. 

McManus' 946 total points are fifth-most in the NFL since 2014. He has appeared in four postseason contests and successfully converted all 10 of his field goal attempts, including two from 50-plus yards. He is one of two place kickers to convert all field goal and extra point attempts (minimum 10 field goals made) in the postseason in the last nine seasons.

As a result of that experience, the Jaguars felt comfortable with moving on from Patterson and earning a conditional 2026 draft pick from the Detroit Lions for him. 

"I can't say enough about Riley and what he did for us last year and obviously it was a huge kick in the Charger game at the end of the year to get us into the divisional round and obviously wish him the best," Pederson said on Tuesday. And you guys know how Trent and I feel anytime you can add a player like Brandon who's got going into his 10th year with the experience that he has and an opportunity also to get something for Riley too. 

"It's not like it was just a total wash out there, but to be able to get a pick for Riley and actually keep him in the NFL and keep him kicking back in Detroit where he came from and started. So it was just an opportunity to help us get better as a football team and we're always going to look to do that and it's just unfortunate that when you're at 90 guys, you know, have to make these type of decisions to move on."

The question now is just how much McManus and his leg strength will change things. 

McManus attempted 13 field goals of 50 or more yards last year (with two attempts over 60 yards), which ranked second in the NFL last year. By comparison, Patterson's three attempts from that range were tied for the eighth-fewest in the league.

"Well, I mean that's something we got to see with Brandon now, obviously with his pedigree and again his experience, but I think that's to yet to be seen. There is a comfort level obviously as a decision-maker to put a kicker out there," Pederson said.

"When you look at some of the top kickers around the league when you cross the 50, the 45, 40, I mean you're in the field goal range, so obviously we're going to take a look at this spring and training camp and see how that plays out."

Farwell wasn't as diplomatic about the potential change in flexibility with McManus in the fold. Farwell raved about his new kicker throughout his press conference, noting that McManus has made 60-yard attempts away from the thin air of Mile High -- a variable the Jaguars simply didn't have last year.

 "I said Riley did a really good job, but this is a guy that gives us a lot more flexibility not only on kickoffs to be able to pin 'em deep and do some different stuff, but it gives us a longer kickoff line on Sundays," Farwell said. 

"At times later in the season, some of those lines got shorter with Riley, this won't be an issue and I think that'll free us up to potentially maybe not go for one when it's a longer, longer distance on fourth down, maybe that's three points that we could take advantage of."