The Green Bay Packers Still Can’t Trust Kicker Brayden Narveson After Six Games

The Green Bay Packers are six games into the 2024 NFL season, but they still have more questions than answers at kicker. Brayden Narveson missed another field goal try in the game against Arizona on Sunday. The former NC State star continues to struggle and his future with the team has to be in doubt unless he quickly turns things around. The Packers still can’t trust Narveson after six games.

Packers Still Can’t Trust Brayden Narveson After Six Games: The Packers Kicking Problems

Kicker has been a problem for the Packers since they moved on from Mason Crosby after the 2022 season. In 2023, they drafted Anders Carlson in the sixth round to replace their all-time leading scorer. Unfortunately, Carlson led the NFL in missed kicks and never fully gained the confidence of the coaching staff.

It got so bad that before the Packers NFC Divisional playoff game against the 49ers, head coach Matt LaFleur was quoted as saying, “Every time he goes out there, I just pray.”

While LaFleur later said he was joking, the “joke” did illustrate the coach’s lack of confidence in his rookie kicker. It didn’t help when Carlson missed a field goal in the fourth quarter of the game that would have given Green Bay a seven-point lead in a game they eventually lost by three points.

Preseason Problems

During the offseason and the preseason, the Packers went through a lot of kickers without any of them securing the job. Carlson was back and competing for a second season with the team.

Between the start of OTAs and the end of the preseason, the Packers brought in several kickers to compete with Carlson. Jack Podlesny and James Turner were there in OTAs but didn’t make it to training camp. Then veteran Greg Joseph was signed. While Joseph was more consistent than Carlson in training camp, neither player did well enough to win the job.

The Packers signed Alex Hale who remains on the practice squad as part of the International Player Pathway program. While Hale gives the Packers an extra spot on the practice squad, the native of Australia has not been elevated to the active roster for any game.

When the preseason ended, GM Brian Gutekunst signed Narveson who was let go by the Tennessee Titans despite having a strong preseason.

Packers Still Can’t Trust Brayden Narveson After Six Games: The Early Returns

Narveson has struggled all season. He is presently 12-of-17 on field goal tries, a mere 70.6 percent. That places him 31^st among kickers with six or more field goal tries entering Monday night’s game.

Officially, Narveson has missed at least one kick in four of the team’s six games this season. Against Tennessee, he officially made his only field goal try, but a miss was nullified by a penalty on the Titans that kept the Packers drive alive.

All the misses have been wide right or hit the upright, even the one wiped out by the penalty. He missed another try against the Cardinals although the Packers were so far ahead in this game it had no impact on the outcome.

Narveson even struggled in practice before the game, in part due to the windy and wet conditions at Lambeau Field.

After the Packers win over the Cardinals, LaFleur was asked about Narveson and his inconsistency. “Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we did it later on, right? He responded and made his kick.”

The Outlook

The Packers don’t have a lot of margin for error here. The team is presently 4-2 and plays in the toughest division in the NFL. The Packers have Super Bowl aspirations. They cannot afford to lose a game because they don’t trust their kicker.

Narveson wouldn’t even have to miss a kick to hurt the Packers chances to win a game. LaFleur could decide to forego a field goal and go for it on 4^th down because he doesn’t believe his kicker can reliably make a critical kick.

While Gutekunst said he would try to be more patient with his specialists, his patience may be running out. If Narveson can’t get things turned around quickly, his time with the Packers could be over soon.