Welcome back to the fifth edition of the 2025 summer series that breaks down the Packers positional battles heading into training camp. This week’s breakdown is different than the previous articles because the topic is the Packers specialists. The “catch 22” for the Packers punter and kicker positions is there is not a real competition for these spots. The 2025 Green Bay Packers Kicker and Punter are locked in.
Before the start of free agency, Brian Gutekunst made sure that Kicker Brandon McManus did not hit the open market. The Packers signed McManus to a three year, $15.3 million contract. McManus, barring a major training camp disaster or injury, will be the Packers kicker for the foreseeable future. The Irishman, Daniel Whelan, enters his third season in Green Bay. Whelan had a solid 2024 season. At the moment, he is the only punter on the Packers roster.
Packers Kicker Brandon McManus
Packer fans must be relieved that they do not have to endure another kicking competition during training camp this season. There is no doubt that the 2024 kicking competition was a draining one. After the Packers released K Anders Carson and K Greg Joseph during the 2024 cutdown days, Green Bay signed K Brayden Narveson. Narveson made 12-17 field goals during the first 6 games of the season. He was released prior to the Packers Week 7 game against the Houston Texans.
After releasing Narveson, Green Bay opted to take a chance on former Bronco and Jaguar kicker Brandon McManus. In McManus’ first game as a Packer and first game in Lambeau Field, McManus drilled a game winning 45 yard field goal as time expired to beat the Texans. From that point on, McManus finished the regular season making 20-21 field goals and 30-30 of extra points. McManus did miss a field goal in the Wild Card playoff game against the Eagles. Overall, after that type of season, Green Bay could not afford to let McManus leave in free agency.
Heading into 2025, Green Bay feels strongly about what they have in McManus. McManus is a seasoned veteran. He has been in the NFL since 2014. Rich Bisaccia mentioned that his leadership and experience has been a benefit to the locker room. Having a veteran kicker who has kicked in all types of scenarios and weather, is always a great thing to have on your football team. Heading into training camp, McManus seems to be off to a hot start. During minicamp, McManus drilled a 58 yard field goal to end practice.
Packers Punter Daniel Whelan
Daniel Whelan is the only player on the team that does not have a competitor at his position. The Packers are so set on Whelan being their punter that they did not bother to even consider a second option. It is hard to blame them. For the most part, Whelan has been pretty reliable. According to PFF, he ranks 14th out of 39 punters. Having a strong punter is a benefit but in a perfect world, the Packers only want to see the punter on the field when it is with the field goal operation team.
Whelan has the leg strength to be effective but when it comes to average and pinning opponents inside the 20 yard line, he ranks in the middle of NFL punters. An undervalued aspect of Whelan’s game is his ability to hold the ball for McManus. In the regular season, McManus made 50-51 of field goals and extra points. If McManus is that accurate, part of the reason for his success, is Whelan’s ability to give him a clean hold.
In Conclusion
The Packers head into the 2025 season with a lot less drama surrounding the kicking position. Whelan remains to be a solid option but his best attribute is being an above average holder. Green Bay does have K Alex Hale, who is currently their designated International Pathway Player, on the roster. The Packers are taking advantage of the extra practice squad/roster spot to keep a second kicker in case of an emergency.
With high hopes surrounding the 2025 Green Bay offense, the hope is Daniel Whelan will not have to punt much this season. It is rather unrealistic to expect McManus to miss only one field goal but if he can continue to make extra points and finish the season with a field goal percentage around 90%, the Packers will take that in a heartbeat.
