The Green Bay Packers are going to have a new place-kicker in 2024. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Packers have made the decision to release second-year kicker Anders Carlson a few hours ahead of the NFL’s deadline to trim rosters down from 90 to 53 players.
Carlson’s release is at once shocking and entirely unsurprising. After the team drafted him in the 6th round in 2023, he had a less-than-stellar rookie season, going 27-for-33 on field goals (81.8%) and 34-for-39 on PATs (87.2%). He also missed some important kicks in critical moments, including a 41-yard attempt in the NFC Divisional Playoffs that would have given the Packers a 7-point lead over the San Francisco 49ers.
This offseason, the Packers brought in multiple kickers to push Carlson for the job, most notably veteran Greg Joseph. Both Carlson and Joseph struggled in training camp, with neither one taking a firm hold of the job. Carlson’s release does not necessarily mean that Joseph is going to be the kicker in week one, however, as the Packers could look to the waiver wire or the trade market to find a permanent solution.
All eyes now shift to Joseph, who remains on the roster for the time being along with rookie Alex Hale. Hale is the Packers’ designated International Pathway player, however, and is therefore eligible for an exempt spot on the team’s practice squad. As a result, he is likely to be waived and should land on the practice squad sometime tomorrow.
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