How Green Bay Packers players plan to spend their bye week
The Packers are in their bye week at the halfway point of the season. Some players talk about how they plan to spend it.
Anders Carlson has found another new home.
And it’s a familiar place for ex-Green Bay Packers players in recent seasons: the New York Jets.
The Jets signed the former Packers kicker to their practice squad Friday as Aaron Rodgers’ team continues to search for an answer at the kicking position in 2024.
Carlson was released by the San Francisco 49ers earlier in the week after spending a few weeks there as an injury replacement.
Anders Carlson career with the Packers didn’t go as planned
Carlson, once seen as the future in Green Bay in a post-Mason Crosby world, lasted just one season with the Packers. With a big leg but accuracy issues in college, the Packers took a chance and selected Carlson in the sixth round of the NFL draft in 2023. It was the first time the Packers chose a kicker in the draft since they picked Crosby in 2007.
But Carlson struggled throughout his rookie season. He led the NFL in missed kicks and then had an underwhelming training camp while facing competition from Greg Joseph, who was also eventually cut by the Packers before the season began.
Anders Carlson impressed in two games with the San Francisco 49ers
Carlson got a second chance with the 49ers last month. The 49ers were in need of kicking help when two of their kickers had injuries early in the season.
Carlson stepped up as an injury replacement, going 8-of-9 on kicks. He was a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals. He made both of his field goals beyond 50 yards, including a career-long 55-yard kick in his first game with the 49ers.
Both games were at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the site of his lowest moment for the Packers, when he missed a fourth-quarter field goal in Green Bay’s eventual 24-21 loss to the 49ers in the divisional round of the playoffs last season.
Jets’ kicking situation has been a mess
Like the Packers earlier this season, the Jets’ kicking situation has been a nightmare.
Previously reliable kicker Greg Zuerlein made just 60% of his field goals in the first eight games as the Jets suffered through a five-game losing streak.
Then, before the team’s game against the Houston Texans last week, Zuerlein was put on injured reserve. Riley Patterson, who the Jets had just signed a day earlier, was elevated from the practice squad and made all three of his extra points in the Jets’ 21-13 victory.
But that wasn’t enough to retain a roster spot. He was cut Friday from the active roster.
Will Anders Carlson start for the Jets?
The Jets have a second kicker on the practice squad in Spencer Shrader, who signed with the team Oct. 30. The Indianapolis Colts cut Shrader on Oct. 16. He kicked in one game for the Colts as an injury replacement in Week 1.
It’s unclear who will be the starter for the Jets’ game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
While Carlson hopes to have found a landing spot for his career, the Packers appear to be set now with their new kicker in Brandon McManus.
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