GREEN BAY (WLUK) — It appears the Green Bay Packers have a kicking quandary on their hands, as K Brandon McManus suffered a right quad injury during practice Wednesday.
“That’s a major concern right now,” head coach Matt LaFleur said. “We’ll see how he’s doing today and tomorrow. We’ll have a plan ready to go.”
After practice Thursday, McManus said he plans to play Sunday against the Bengals.
“He [LaFleur] didn’t speak to me about that,” McManus said. “He has his own thesaurus and encyclopedia to describe injuries.”
McManus said he suffered a similar injury back in 2022 when he was with the Broncos. That injury happened on a Wednesday, and he went on to kick two 50-yard field goals and a 40-yarder in that upcoming game.
“Last time when I did it, I didn’t kick on Friday,” he said. “Typically here, I kick Wednesdays and Fridays. Today I was out there doing individual drills, running around on it. Just doing some air swings, but didn’t actually kick a ball, because I don’t usually kick balls on Thursdays. Friday, I’ll see in the morning. Depends on what we think is the best. Does it matter if I kick on Friday or Sunday?”
The Packers do have backup kicker Mark McNamee on the practice squad as the team’s international player. He appeared in one preseason game and went 2-3 on extra points and 1-2 on field goals. His miss was from 39 yards.
OTHER INJURIES
Players who did not practice Thursday include DT Devonte Wyatt (quad) and OL Anthony Belton (ankle), who have not practiced all week, and T Rasheed Walker (knee),
Also, WR Christian Watson (knee) has been limited Wednesday and Thursday as he is coming back from a torn ACL last season.