Tag: Brandon McManus

Commanders signing Jaguars kicker Brandon McManus to 1-year deal

With the departure of Brandon McManus, the only kicker on the Jaguars’ roster will be Riley Patterson.

The Washington Commanders have a deal in place to sign Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Brandon McManus to a one-year, $3.6 million deal when he becomes a free agent Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

McManus, 32, was scooped up by the Jaguars during the 2023 offseason shortly after he was released by the Denver Broncos. In his only season with Jacksonville, McManus made 30 of his 37 field goals, although he was perfect inside of 40 yards and five of his seven misses were from 50-plus yards.

After making 23 of his first 25 field goals on the year, McManus frustrated Jaguars coach Doug Pederson when he missed five of six kicks during a rough stretch late in the season.

While there’s been little indication that the Jaguars intended to re-sign the impending free agent, the writing on the wall for McManus became crystal clear Monday when the team agreed to terms on a deal with Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz. While the deal eventually fell through, Jacksonville clearly intends to move in a different direction at the kicker position.

With McManus set to join Washington, the only kicker on the roster will be Riley Patterson, the team’s 2022 kicker who was added back to the roster in February. It seems unlikely that the Jaguars envision Patterson being their starting kicker in 2024, though.

There’s a chance that the contract for McManus is rich enough to play a factor in the awarding of compensatory draft picks. Given the amount of additions the Jaguars made Monday, it appears unlikely they’ll be in position to get a 2025 pick, though.

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Commanders agree to terms with Jaguars kicker Brandon McManus

The Commanders have moved on from Joey Slye.

The Washington Commanders are moving on from kicker Joey Slye. Late Monday, during the opening day of the NFL’s legal tampering period, Washington agreed to terms on a one-year deal with veteran kicker Brandon McManus.

The deal is worth up to $3.6 million, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

McManus, 32, comes to Washington after spending last season with the Jaguars. McManus connected on 30 of 37 field-goal attempts and made all 35 of his point-after attempts. Additionally, 63% of McManus’ kickoffs went for touchbacks.

Before his season in Jacksonville, McManus spent the previous nine seasons with the Denver Broncos.

For his career, McManus has made 81% of his field-goal attempts and over 97% of his PATs.

Slye had been Washington’s kicker since Nov. 2021, making 56 of his 66 field-goal attempts with a long of 61 yards. Slye did miss eight extra-point attempts during his time with the Commanders. For his career, Slye has an 83.2% touchback rating on his kickoffs.

Broncos kicker Wil Lutz backs out of 3-year deal with Jaguars

After initially agreeing to a three-year deal with the Jaguars, Wil Lutz backed out of the agreement to return to the Broncos instead.

Story update: After initially agreeing to a three-year deal with the Jaguars, Wil Lutz backed out of that agreement and decided to return to the Broncos on a two-year deal instead. See our original post below. 

The Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to terms on a three-year deal with Denver Broncos pending free agent kicker Wil Lutz, according to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The deal will not become official until the NFL’s new league year begins on Wednesday.

After cutting Brandon McManus last spring, Broncos coach Sean Payton traded a seventh-round pick to the New Orleans Saints in the summer to acquire Lutz (he’s one of many former Saints who reunited with Payton in Denver).

Ironically, Lutz will now replace McManus in Jacksonville. McManus, 32, is set to become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday.

Because part of his contract was still being paid by New Orleans, Lutz was a relative bargain for the Broncos in 2023 with a $1.25 million salary.

Lutz (29) struggled early in the 2023 season, missing a field goal and an extra point attempt in Week 1, but he bounced back to finish the year 30-of-34 (88.2%) on field goal attempts and 29-of-31 (93.5%) on extra point attempts.

Lutz has converted 85.2% of his field goal attempts and 97.2% of his extra point attempts in his career. The veteran kicker spent seven years with the Saints before landing in Denver last year. His career long is 60 yards.

In addition to seeking a quarterback, the Broncos now also need a new kicker. We are tracking all of Denver’s free agency moves on Broncos Wire.

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Jaguars bring back 2022 hero Riley Patterson

Riley Patterson, who was traded to the Lions last year, is back with the Jaguars.

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed kicker Riley Patterson to a reserve/futures deal on Monday, according to the NFL’s transaction wire.

Patterson, 24, spent the 2022 season with the Jaguars and made 30 of his 35 field goal attempts on the year. That included a four-for-four performance against the New York Jets that earned him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. In the playoffs, Patterson made a 36-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Los Angeles Chargers.

After the season, the Jaguars opted to sign Brandon McManus to take over kicking duties in 2023. Patterson was then traded to the Detroit Lions for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft.

Details of the conditions of the trade are unknown, but the pick may still belong to Detroit as Patterson was eventually replaced by the Lions in December. He was waived by the team late in the season and was signed to the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad to finish the year.

McManus, who made 30 of his 37 field goals this season, is currently the only other kicker on the Jaguars’ roster with the addition of Patterson.

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Comparing Wil Lutz’s stats to Brandon McManus’ stats in 2023

Wil Lutz converted 88.2% of his field goals in 2023, better than Brandon McManus (81.1%). Lutz did miss two PATs (McManus was perfect).

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton made a somewhat surprising move last May when he released veteran kicker Brandon McManus.

McManus ranked second on the club’s all-time scoring list and he was the last remaining member from the Super Bowl 50 squad before being cut. The kicker was coming off a down year, however, and releasing him saved the Broncos $3.75 million in 2023 salary cap space.

McManus signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars a few days later.

Denver then had a kicker competition between Brett Maher and Elliott Fry last summer, but neither of them ended up winning the job. Before the start of the season, Payton traded a seventh-round draft pick to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for Wil Lutz, his former kicker.

The switch from McManus to Lutz saved the Broncos $2.05 million in 2023 cap space, so it made sense financially. In hindsight, it also made sense from a football perspective.

Lutz converted 88.2% of his field goals this season, better than the 81.1% conversion rate that McManus posted. Here’s a quick look at a few more of their stats.

22 Jaguars players set to become free agents in March, ranked

Which impending free agents should the Jaguars focus on bringing back?

The Jacksonville Jaguars spent much of the 2023 offseason retaining their own free agents.

While Jawaan Taylor, Arden Key, Marvin Jones Jr, and Chris Manhertz were among those who left the team, the Jaguars made sure to keep several players, including Andrew Wingard, Dawuane Smoot, Adam Gotsis, and Tre Herndon.

After a disappointing 2023 season, there aren’t as many tough calls to make regarding the more than 20 players set to become free agents in 2024.

Free agency will begin on March 13, but the first decision for the Jaguars will come about a week before that when the franchise tag deadline hits on March 5.

With about two months to sort out their plans, here are the 22 players the Jaguars currently have set to leave the team as free agents:

15 takeaways from the Broncos’ first season under Sean Payton

Here are 15 quick takeaways from Sean Payton’s first season with the Broncos.

After starting 4-11 last season, the Denver Broncos fired first-time head coach Nathaniel Hackett with two games remaining. Jerry Rosburg then took over on an interim basis and the club split their final two games to finish the year with a 5-12 record.

After firing Hackett, the Broncos’ new ownership group wanted to go big, so they agreed to trade first- and second-round draft picks to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a third-round pick and the rights to head coach Sean Payton last January.

While Denver did not qualify for the playoffs, the team did take a step forward in Year 1 under Payton, improving from 5-12 in 2022 to 8-9 in 2023. That marked the team’s best record since 2017. The next step is posting a winning record and qualifying for the postseason in 2024.

So, what did we learn from Payton’s first season in Denver? Here are 15 quick takeaways from the Broncos’ 2023 season.

5 best Jaguars player prop bets for Week 18

With Trevor Lawrence and Zay Jones officially active, here are five prop bet picks for Sunday.

Player prop bets have been hard to come by for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Week 18 game against the Tennessee Titans.

With Trevor Lawrence, Christian Kirk, and Zay Jones all listed as questionable, oddsmakers held off on setting totals. With Lawrence and Jones announced as active, and Kirk held out, the props finally rolled in.

Even Titans props were few and far between for much of he week with the status of rookie quarterback Will Levis in doubt. On Friday, Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel announced Ryan Tannehill will get the start.

If you’re looking to get in on the action this week with some player prop bets, we’ve got you covered with a handful of wagers to make on the Jaguars. The following prop bets are available on BetMGM, with the listed odds last updated at the time of publication.

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5 Jaguars players to watch vs the Titans in Week 18

The Jaguars offense is finally starting to get healthy again.

The Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t completely out of the woods, but fans can breathe again. The team ended its four-game losing streak in Week 17, beating the Panthers in a 26-point shutout.

The Jaguars have now guaranteed themselves a winning record, but a win could move the Jaguars to 10-7 and clinch the AFC South title.

Tennessee is in a different place than it was last time the teams met, and a few key Jaguars will need to be at the top of their game to secure another win for Jacksonville.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch against the Titans in Week 18:

Wil Lutz is one field goal away from tying Jason Elam’s franchise record

With one more field goal, Broncos kicker Wil Lutz will tie a single-season franchise record held by Jason Elam (31).

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton made a surprising move this spring when he released veteran kicker Brandon McManus and replaced him with Wil Lutz.

In hindsight, it looks like Payton made the right decision.

Lutz has converted 88.2% of his field goal attempts this season, better than McManus (80.0%) with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Lutz also has a cheaper contract — switching from McManus to Lutz saved Denver $2.05 million.

“I think he’s doing well,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said of Lutz on Dec. 1. “He’s made some big kicks for us, and he’s been in some big spots … I think he’s doing a good job and I’m glad we have him.”

After a shaky start in Week 1, Payton said Lutz would bounce back, and the coach was right.

The 29-year-old kicker is just one field goal away from tying Jason Elam’s franchise record of 31 field goals in a single season (Brandon McManus and Matt Prater both converted 30 field goals in a single season).

Elam made 31 field goals in two different seasons (1995 and 2001) and to be fair to history, Elam did that during the 16-game era. Still, even with an extra game, Lutz’s numbers are impressive. Two field goals on Sunday would break Elam’s record.

Lutz has also had 88.5% of his kickoffs go for touchbacks this season, seventh-most in the NFL. McManus (75.6%) ranks 23rd.

McManus was one of the best kickers in franchise history and a key member of Denver’s Super Bowl 50 team, but Payton made the right move to switch to Lutz this offseason.

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