After COVID, Crosby Kicking as Good as Ever
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby said he was “the most surprised of anybody” when he tested positive for COVID-19 at the start of training camp.
Crosby tested negative upon arriving for camp but positive the next day. The symptoms were so mild, he said, that he “wouldn’t have thought too much” about them had he not tested positive. He was placed on the team’s COVID-reserve list on July 30 and was activated in time for the first practice on Aug. 15.
“Fortunately, my symptoms were very mild and I went through the 10-day protocol as everyone else has and I was able to get back on the field I think as fast as I possibly could have,” Crosby said after Monday’s practice. “So, feel really good right now, feel strong, feel like I’m kicking the ball really well.”
Crosby is 30-of-32 on field goals during four kicking sessions at training camp. That includes going 5-for-5 with a long of 50 yards during last week’s practice in Lambeau Field; the team will practice in the stadium again on Tuesday.
At age 35, Crosby saw a silver lining in being away from the team for a couple weeks.
“I trained pretty hard right before camp, so having a couple days off of the legs wasn’t a bad thing for me. I’m going into my 14th season, so rest and recovery is a big part of my process whenever I hit it hard for a couple days. So, I really tried to focus on my mental processes and the things that I could control through that quarantine. I feel like I came out of it really strong. I feel like I'm hitting the ball really well. The pop in my leg feels as good as it has in years.”
Having made 22-of-24 field-goal attempts last season, Crosby’s 91.7 percent success rate was his first season of 90-plus percent. That made it the perfect timing to become a free agent for the first time in his career. Instead, just before the start of free agency, the Packers re-signed Crosby with a three-year deal worth $12.9 million.
Since his infamous five-miss game at Detroit in Week 5 of the 2018 season, Crosby has missed a total of five kicks in his last 29 games: 41-of-45 on field goals and 72-of-73 on extra points. Including one missed extra point this year, Crosby missed a total of three kicks while making game-winners in both games against Detroit.
“I felt so fortunate that we started negotiating pretty quick after the season and got that deal done even before the [Scouting] Combine,” he said. “Molly [Crosby; his wife] and I really reflected over our time as we started getting to those negotiations, some of that definitely played a role in it. The legacy that I’ve created here and the teammates and the organization and the support that I’ve had through our time here has just been outstanding and overwhelming. So, as we started through the process and before we even had a chance to see what else might have been, I was just so thankful to be able to get that deal done.”
