The Green Bay Packers need to take a long, hard look at their kicker situation after the 2021 season. The Packers usually bring in competition every offseason, but they made need to give it even more attention following Mason Crosby’s recent struggles. The veteran missed his eighth field goal of the season during Sunday’s three-point loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
The best thing for a kicker is continuity, but Crosby hasn’t had that luxury working with two different long snappers and holders since the start of training camp. Through the course of the 2021 season, there have been instances where the field goal process has been rocky. Snaps have been off target, the laces on the ball haven’t been in the right direction, and opposing players have passed through unblocked, leading to blocked kicks.
Crosby, a consummate professional, is not one for excuses.
“It all starts and ends with me,” Crosby said Thursday. “I gotta make kicks whenever my number is called.”
Crosby has experienced all of the highs and lows of an NFL kicker. He made the 10th game-winning kick of his career, including playoffs, against the Cincinnati Bengals earlier this year. However, in that same game, Crosby missed three field goals and an extra point before making his walkoff 49-yarder in overtime.
Naturally, sometimes the process isn’t as good as it should be, but ultimately it comes down to a pure strike of the ball.
“As long as I’m able to kick a ball and do this thing, I’m going to always take ultimate responsibility for what happens out there on the field,” he said.
The operation was pretty clean on Crosby’s 54-yard attempt to start the day against the Vikings. A good snap and good hold helped Crosby connect on his longest field goal of the season.
But when Crosby was called upon for a 32-yard chip shot in the second quarter, the snap and hold appeared to be clean, but his kick hit the left upright. The missed kick turned out to be crucial for the Packers. Had Crosby made the short field goal attempt, the winner may have been decided in overtime rather than regulation.
Over the last five games, Crosby has missed five field goals between 30 and 49 yards, and he leads the NFL with four missed field goals between 30 and 39 yards, usually a high-percentage distance for today’s kickers.
Green Bay should at least let Crosby finish out the season. He has recovered from bad stretches in the past, none worse than his four missed field goals against the Detroit Lions in 2018. Many thought Crosby’s days were numbered, but he bounced back to connect on 95 percent of his attempts through the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Last year, Crosby made every one of his field goals for the first time in his career.
Kickers have gone on to play into their 40s and remain consistent. Crosby, 37, is in his 15th season and signed through the 2022 season. The team can give him a chance to show improvement through the last half of 2021 and then decide whether to move on in the offseason. JJ Molson, who the Packers have protected on the practice squad all year, could be one option down the road.
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