GREEN BAY — Matt LaFleur wasn’t about to call it a kicking controversy. Instead, the Green Bay Packers head coach used a different word: Competition.

After watching veteran Brandon McManus miss three field-goal attempts over the past two games, and knowing that McManus’ quadriceps injury in his right (kicking) leg has not fully healed, LaFleur declared Thursday that the Packers’ kicking job is officially open for competition between McManus and Lucas Havrisik heading into Monday night’s matchup with the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles at Lambeau Field.

“It’s a competitive situation,” LaFleur said before practice. “We’re going to have both the guys kick today, and we’ll kind of see where Brandon’s at in terms of his health and whatnot.

“And [we will] go with who we feel like gives us the best opportunity to go out there and compete and win.”

After missing 57- and 44-yard field-goal attempts in the Packers’ Oct. 26 win at Pittsburgh, McManus missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt on the opening possession of the third quarter of last Sunday’s 16-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field. The kick would have given the Packers a 9-7 lead at the time.

For the season, McManus is 11 of 16 on field-goal attempts and 15 for 16 on extra points. He also had a 48-yarder clank off the left upright in a Week 2 win over Washington and a potential game-winning 43-yarder blocked in a Week 3 loss at Cleveland. The Dallas Cowboys blocked an extra point in the Packers’ Week 4 tie in Dallas.

While McManus missed the Packers’ Oct, 12 home win over the Cincinnati Bengals and their Oct. 19 win at Arizona, Havrisik went 10-for-10, making all six of his extra points and all four of his field-goal attempts, including a franchise-record 61-yarder against the Cardinals.

After a pregame workout in Pittsburgh, the Packers went with McManus but kept Havrisik on the roster, even though they’d needed to clear a spot for wide receiver Christian Watson’s return from the physically unable to perform list before that game.

They cut No. 4 tight end Ben Sims instead — a player who might’ve come in handy after starting tight end Tucker Kraft sustained a season-ending knee injury against the Panthers.

Havrisik was inactive again against the Panthers while McManus made two of three field-goal attempts and his only extra point.

“Last week, I kicked like [expletive]. Played terrible last week and pretty much again today,” McManus told PackersNews.com after Sunday’s game. “I can’t miss kicks that are well within my range. Played terrible.”

Asked if he still has the same confidence he had in McManus as he did before the injury, LaFleur replied, “I do. Absolutely.”

Why? “Because,” LaFleur replied, “I see it every day.”

Although McManus and Havrisik both kicked in practice Thursday, neither player came through the locker room during the media access period afterward. Special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia is set to speak with reporters on Friday afternoon.

But when asked last month why so many NFL teams seem to be changing kickers in-season — a rarity back in the day — Bisaccia acknowledged that teams are less patient than they once were.

 “It just seems like in the league, every game is coming down to [the end]. You’ve got to have a kicker that can score some points. We’re playing in anywhere from a two- to a four-point range with all of these games,” Bisaccia said. “There’s a lot of guys that spend a lot of time in the offseason with the different kicking coaches around the country, so we’re getting constant videos of all these kickers that are working [while unsigned].

“I think some organizations might feel like. if the guy you have is not doing what you think he should do, they’re going to have a workout. And if they find a guy that has a stronger leg or something like that, or has a great day, then maybe you put him on your practice squad, and then maybe becomes elevated for you.”

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