Story by
New Special Teams Coach Gave Hint as to Why Packers Moved on From Brandon McManus
- Story by
- New Special Teams Coach Gave Hint as to Why Packers Moved on From Brandon McManus
(© Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images)
The Green Bay Packers made a few things very clear this offseason about the state of their special teams.
For one, they're clearly investing into it.
They didn't plan on Rich Bisaccia leaving at the last minute, but as soon as they did, there was a concerted effort by the Pack to take a weakness and turn it into a strength.
Advertisement
They went out and got an up-and-comer in the industry in special teams coordinator Cam Achord -- who had previously run a top-ranked special teams unit during a stint with the New England Patriots .
Green Bay also went out and signed kick return/punt return specialist Skyy Moore to a one-year $2.5 million contract. Last season for the San Francisco 49ers , he averaged 27.5 yards per kickoff return (No. 6 in the NFL) and 11.6 yards per punt return (No. 7 in the NFL).
Gone are the days of 5.6 yards return yards per punt, which was the worst in the NFL last season.
As if the Packers weren't taking this special teams turnaround seriously enough, general manager Brian Gutekunst went out in the 2026 NFL Draft and traded away two seventh-round picks to move up into the back half of the sixth round to select Florida Gators kicker Trey Smack -- who was regarded as the top place kicker in the draft.
Advertisement
A few weeks later, they have now released veteran kicker Brandon McManus , despite having just paid him a $1 million roster bonus.
So, what are we to make of all this?
McManus stabilized Green Bay's kicking game in 2024 after being signed to replace undrafted rookie Brayden Narveson in Week 7. He struggled last season, though, as he dealt with a right quad injury. He finished the year making 24-of-30 field goals with 13 consecutive makes to end the 2025 campaign, but he went 0-for-2 and missed an extra point in Green Bay's loss to the Chicago Bears in the playoffs. He also had missed a kick in the Packers' 2024 wild-card loss to the Philadelphia Eagles .
Meanwhile, Achord had the following to say about Green Bay's rookie kicker:
Advertisement
"Straight ball, accuracy. His ball doesn't move a lot," Achord said, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic . "For me, I don't need a guy — and I've been blessed to coach a lot of guys that are really good — I don't need a guy that can kick 65 yards, personally. I want the guy who's gonna put it through consistently from 58, 55, 'cause again, we're playing in Green Bay. Whether I was coaching in New England , coaching in MetLife, we're gonna play in elements and you're not gonna need the 60-yard ball all the time. You're gonna need the 45-yard ball with a 14-mile-an-hour crosswind, so his ball not moving and stuff like that was definitely a big part for me."
Achord clearly already has confidence in Smack, and you know that he played a role in Gutekunst going up to get the young kicker in the draft.
One would imagine that confidence in Smack also played a huge role in the Packers deciding to cut McManus without even holding a kicking competition in fall camp.
Advertisement
In three years kicking at Florida, Smack hit 53-of-64 field goals (82.8%). That included making 10-of-13 from 50-plus yards with long kicks of 54 in 2023, 55 in 2024 and 56 in 2025.
Achord liked Smack's straight ball, and he believes that the lack of movement will allow the kicker to cut through the elements at places like Soldier Field, Lincoln Financial, and, yes, Lambeau Field.
McManus had missed kicks in all three of those stadiums during his time with the Packers.
Achord and the Packers are betting that won't be the case with Smack.
Packers Roundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We'd love to have you join us to talk all things Packers. Click the "Join" button at the top of the page to join our community for free .
