The move was somewhat surprising, but some already saw this move coming.<\/p>\n
McManus struggled last season after seemingly becoming the answer for the Packers at the position in 2024.<\/p>\n
In 2025, McManus was 24 of 30 on field goals, making 80% of his kicks.<\/p>\n
When it came to the short range field goals (20-39 yards) McManus was a perfect 18 of 18.<\/p>\n
But he struggled with the longer range field goals of 40-plus yards or more going 6 of 12.<\/p>\n
Furthermore those misses in the Wild Card Round further put the position in question.<\/p>\n
What does this mean?<\/p>\n
The kicking competition is now narrowed down to two people.<\/p>\n
One kicker, the Packers traded up to draft in the 2026 draft.<\/a><\/p>\n The other is a record holder in the Packers record books with the longest field goal in Packers history.<\/p>\n Trey Smack and Lucas Havrisik will battle it out in training camp to see who will take McManus\u2019s spot this season.<\/p>\n Havrisik kicked in three games for the Packers last year and made all of his field goals.<\/p>\n But he struggled in his third game against the New York Giants missing 2 extra point kicks.<\/p>\n Granted it was a windy day in New York, but Havrisik will have another opportunity to get the starting job as the kicker.<\/p>\n Smack will also have the same opportunity as well.<\/p>\n The Packers do think very highly of Smack as the team traded up to draft him in the sixth round.<\/p>\n The team also labeled Smack as the top rated kicker in the draft, but we\u2019ll have to see how he is during training camp and preseason games.<\/p>\n During his career with the Florida Gators Smack made 53 of his 64 career field goal attempts (82.8 percent)<\/p>\n Breaking it down further he also made 14 of 19 from 40-49 yards and 10 of 13 from 50 or longer.<\/p>\n With McManus out of the picture, the slight edge goes to Smack.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll have to again see how both kicker will perform in training camp or if the Packers bring in another kicker to make it a three man competition again.<\/p>\n Conclusion<\/p>\n There was a point in time in 2024 where we\u2019d never thought we see any kicker succeed in Green Bay.<\/p>\n For a franchise that only went through 4 kickers between 1990-2022, it was a pain to watch the inconstancy in kickers.<\/p>\n McManus proved to only be a temporary bandage on a wound that is still very much bleeding.<\/p>\n We\u2019re back to square one once again.<\/p>\n Hopefully the second time around will be much better than the first time around. <\/p>\n \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n Hau Khuong has been a Packers fan since 1996. He currently works as a video editor in Green Bay and writes for PackersTalk.com <\/a>and you can follow him on twitter at @HauKhuongSports.<\/a>
\n <\/p>\n \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n Hau Khuong<\/p>\n \n Hau has been a Packers fan since 1996. He is currently works as a Video Editor and Producer in Green Bay, WI. Click on the icons below to follow him on social media.\n <\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/lukas-havrisik-packers-scaled-e1763313076699-1024x683.jpg\")
Oct 12, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers kicker Lucas Havrisik (35) kicks a field goal with punter Daniel Whelan (19) in the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Trey-Smack-1-1024x576.webp\")
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