The Green Bay Packers released veteran kicker Brandon McManus today. The move comes less than two weeks after the Packers traded up in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft to select Florida kicker Trey Smack at No. 216 overall. Smack will now compete with Lucas Havrisik for the starting job heading into training camp.
Packers Will Eat $4.33 Million in Dead Cap After Releasing Brandon McManus
The timing of McManus release drew immediate criticism across the league as Green Bay had paid McManus a $1 million roster bonus in March, a decision that, in hindsight, signaled the front office hadn’t yet committed to moving on.
Releasing him now frees up just $945,097 in cap space while saddling the Packers with $4.33 million in dead money, per OverTheCap.
McManus signed a three-year, $15.3 million contract in March 2025 after a stellar 11-game run with the Packers in 2024, where he converted 20 of 21 field goals.
His 2025 regular season, however, told a different story. McManus hit just 24 of 30 field goals (80%), a mark that placed him in the bottom tier of qualifying kickers, and missed three games.
Here’s how the analysts on social media reacted to the Packers’ decision of parting ways with the kicker, who won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos:
The Packers paid McManus a $1 million roster bonus in March and now are moving on. https://t.co/IfIlY4tJdC
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) May 8, 2026
“Paying McManus that bonus looked idiotic back in March, and it looks even more idiotic now,” wrote Michael Rodney on X.
Well that competition didn’t last long https://t.co/OLIp7PCS6S
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) May 8, 2026
“Damn. I was fully expecting Trey Smack to ultimately win the job by the end of the summer, but I didn’t think there was a chance they’d release Brandon McManus so soon without a competition,” PFSN’s Zach Jacobson said on X.
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“Gutey [Brian Gutekunst] said there’d be competition — apparently he meant Smack vs. Havrisik,” Jason Wilde said on X. “Wonder if McManus asked for this after the Smack pick.”
It doesn’t matter all that much in the scheme of things – $1.5 million in NFL terms is couch cushion money (I get how off putting that is) – but $1 million roster bonus for McManus for absolutely nothing and $500k to Trevon Diggs for 1 meaningful snap is an interesting use of $.
— Andy Herman (@AndyHermanNFL) May 8, 2026
“It’s time for someone new to miss a clutch kick in the playoffs,” wrote Jacob Morley while taking a subtle dig at McManus’ disastrous outing in the Wild Card round loss to the Chicago Bears last season.
With the Packers holding a 21-3 halftime lead over the Bears, McManus missed a 55-yard attempt as time expired in the second quarter, then missed an extra point in the fourth quarter that would have pushed the Packers’ lead to 12 instead of 11.
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He followed that with a missed 44-yarder that would have extended the lead to six with under three minutes remaining. The Bears scored on the next drive to take the lead, and Green Bay’s season ended in a 31-27 loss. McManus left seven points on the field in a four-point game, and his departure felt inevitable when the team drafted Smack.
Smack, the Florida product, converted 82.8% of his career field goals and missed just one extra point across three seasons as a starter (100 of 101). His range sets him apart, as he converted on 10 of 13 attempts from 50-plus yards with a long of 56. He was the consensus top-rated kicker in the 2026 class.
For an offense built around Jordan Love’s arm and a defense anchored by four-time Pro Bowler Micah Parsons, reliable kicking is what closes out games in the fourth quarter.
Green Bay learned that lesson in Chicago, and Smack’s track record on big stages in the SEC suggests the Packers might have found the solution to their problems.
