Brandon McManus Kicks Aside Troy Aikman’s Injury Report

Green Bay Packers kicker Brandon McManus, who has missed a kick in all three games since returning from injury, says he’s feeling good and is eager to kick his way out of a slump.

Green Bay Packers place kicker Brandon McManus (17) watches his extra point against Carolina. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – During ESPN’s Monday night broadcast, Troy Aikman said Green Bay Packers kicker Brandon McManus was “semi-healthy” for the first time since suffering an injured quad a month earlier.

It was a bit of a startling report.

And apparently an incorrect one.

“That was news to me when I heard that I had said that,” McManus said on Thursday.

McManus injured his right quad at practice on Oct. 8. He missed two games but was deemed healthy enough to play the last three weeks.

“He’s getting healthier and healthier by the day,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said last week when he stated clear-as-day that McManus would kick on Monday night against the Eagles. He wasn’t listed on the final injury report last week.

McManus isn’t on this week’s injury report.

“As you work through the progression of being injured, obviously, the pain tolerances and everything get better and better,” he said. “Last week was when I felt almost back to normal – pretty much back to normal. Pretty much no pain, didn’t feel anything in my leg.”

Does that mean McManus is read for the stretch run?

“Yes,” he said.

Last year, McManus replaced Brayden Narveson and turned out to be the salvation to the Packers’ chronic kicking problems. He made 20-of-21 field-goal attempts, his 95.2 percent accuracy ranking second in the NFL and setting a Packers record.

It’s been a different story this year. Of 32 kickers with at least 10 field-goal attempts, he is last with 64.7 percent accuracy. He’s 11-of-17; of the six misses, one was the killer block against Cleveland and one was the 64-yarder on the final play against Philadelphia.

McManus remains confident, even though he’s missed a kick in six consecutive games.

“You have to rely on what you’ve done in the past,” he said. “I’ve been upset with some of these easier kicks that I’ve missed that are relatively easy for me. So, it’s been disappointing. One, was getting injured at first at practice – wasn’t even during a game. And that ended up being more like Matt (LaFleur) was saying where it was a ‘major concern,’ and I ended up missing a few weeks.

“So, been battling through that and going through the whole process of didn’t have my normal weeks of practice. So, that part was frustrating. And then, obviously, my performance has been extremely frustrating for me, more than anybody.”

From McManus’ perspective, the disappointment runs much deeper than his personal success and struggles.

“I was a fan of football before I ended up playing so, to me, being a fan is a psychological roller coaster,” he said. “I see day in and day out players in here busting their tails off with knick-knack injuries and stuff like that. All of us go out there with the intention to perform our best and, obviously, I have not been playing my best.”

That’s the tough part – falling short for the team.

“That’s the nature of the position and that’s why they pay us handsomely, just like other people in the room,” he said. “It’s an unfortunate black-and-white thing with our position. It comes with the territory. That’s why I like playing this position.”

In a way, being a kicker is like being a golfer.

“I wouldn’t compare it to golf because you’ve got four shots to get it in,” McManus interjected. “If you have a bad shot, you can still make up for it with a chip or putt. Not kicking.”

Fine, but they are the loneliest of athletic endeavors, with a lot of downtime to contemplate wayward tee shots and field goals.

McManus, though, said he’s not in his head and that one missed kick isn’t leading to another.

“You’re pretty thoughtless when you’re out there, to be honest with you,” he said. “The Panthers game and the field goal at halftime against the Steelers, just no excuse. Easy kicks for me. But the Panthers, I came back and hit the extra point and that was a significant wind game. Obviously, their kicker missed the extra point.

“So, to me, at times, it’s a thoughtless position when I’m out on the field. I’m not thinking about anything other than what I’ve done in the past and picking my target and swinging.”

Bisaccia on Thursday said McManus has been “striking the ball pretty good” at practice this week.

After an injury and some uncharacteristic misses, McManus is eager to put all of this behind him. Now that he’s back to feeling good and kicking good at practice, he’s eager to get back to making kicks in games and helping the Packers win games.

“Yeah. Definitely healthy now,” he said. “I was healthy enough to play and it was our decision from the medical, how I was feeling at practice, and look forward to performing the way I know how to.”

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