Tag: Brandon McManus

Jaguars sign former Broncos kicker Brandon McManus

While playing for Denver, Brandon McManus was a perfect 6-of-6 on FG attempts and 8-8 on PATs in four career games against the Jaguars.

[connatix div_id=”3f8b015acdd24c648befc5d5dac47469″ player_id=”afe1e038-d3c2-49c0-922d-6511a229f69c” cid=”7cbcea0d-4ce2-4c75-9a8d-fbe02a192c24″]

Brandon McManus did not remain a free agent for long.

After being released by the Denver Broncos on Tuesday, the veteran kicker signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday.

McManus, 31, has never missed a kick against the Jaguars. In four career games against Jacksonville, McManus is 6-of-6 on field goal attempts and 8-of-8 on extra point attempts. He went 3-of-3 on PATs in Denver’s 21-17 win over the Jags in London last season.

McManus has kicked well against Jacksonville historically, but last season was one of the worst of his career. McManus converted 77.8% of his field goal attempts in 2022, a percentage that ranked 29th in the NFL.

McManus was scheduled to have the sixth-highest cap hit among kickers in 2023 before the Broncos released him, a move that will save the team between $2.5 million and $3.75 million in salary cap space this fall.

Although his final season in Denver was a down year, McManus will be remembered for going a perfect 10-of-10 on field goal attempts during the 2015 playoffs. He played a key role in the team’s Super Bowl 50 victory by converting three field goals in a 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers. McManus departs ranked second on the Broncos’ all-time scoring list (946 points).

Denver is now left to seek a replacement. The team brought in three kickers — Brett Maher, Parker White and Elliott Fry — for workouts on Wednesday.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Broncos cut offensive lineman, host 3 kickers for workouts

The Broncos worked out three kickers on Wednesday and they cut OT Hunter Thedford to make room for OT Cam Fleming on the roster.

After cutting kicker Brandon McManus on Tuesday, the Denver Broncos quickly filled his former spot on the 90-man offseason roster by signing defensive lineman Tyler Lancaster.

After that, the Broncos agreed to terms on a one-year deal with backup swing tackle Cam Fleming. That signing became official on Wednesday. To make room for Fleming, Denver waived offensive tackle Hunter Thedford with an injury settlement.

Thedford had suffered a hip flexor injury and he will get a week of offseason pay as part of his release, according to the Denver Gazette‘s Chris Tomasson.

Tomasson also reported Wednesday that the Broncos brought in three kickers for workouts: Brett Maher, Parker White and Elliott Fry.

Denver is not expected to sign a kicker on Wednesday as the team continues to assess its options, according to Tomasson. Maher did take a physical, though, so that might be a sign that he could be in line to sign once the team opens up a spot on the roster.

Broncos bringing in kicker Parker White for workout

Parker White and Brett Maher will work out for the Broncos on Wednesday following the release of kicker Brandon McManus.

[connatix div_id=”3f8b015acdd24c648befc5d5dac47469″ player_id=”afe1e038-d3c2-49c0-922d-6511a229f69c” cid=”7cbcea0d-4ce2-4c75-9a8d-fbe02a192c24″]

Brett Maher isn’t the only kicker who will work out for the Denver Broncos on Wednesday.

The Broncos are also bringing in Parker White, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. White, 24, went undrafted last spring and he had several tryouts with NFL teams but was not signed until after the 2022 season.

The Green Bay Packers gave White a reserve/future contract in January, but he was cut this week to make room for new running back Emanuel Wilson, who initially signed with Denver as a college free agent this spring but was cut after rookie minicamp.

White (6-5, 205 pounds) spent five seasons at South Carolina, earning second-team All-SEC recognition as a super senior in 2021. He scored a school-record 368 career points with the Gamecocks and had a career-long field goal of 54 yards.

White went 16-of-17 on field goal attempts in 2021 and 30-of-30 on extra point attempts in his final college season. He is now a candidate to replace Brandon McManus, who was released by the Broncos on Tuesday.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Should Titans pursue veteran K Brandon McManus?

Shaun Calderon shares his thoughts on if the Titans should pursue veteran kicker Brandon McManus.

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

In a rather shocking move, kicker Brandon McManus announced that he and the Denver Broncos were parting ways. Naturally, this caused Tennessee Titans fans to start salivating at the possibility of luring one of this generation’s greatest kickers to Tennessee.

Over the last four years, McManus has been the fourth-most accurate kicker in field goals under 54 yards, only trailing Justin Tucker, Graham Gano, and Younghoe Koo.

However, last season he did have a noticeable statistical drop-off, only making 77.8 percent of his field goals (28-of-36), which was his lowest overall percentage since the 2017 season.

One area where the Titans admittedly want to improve is their ability to make long field goals after being very limited in that area with Randy Bullock the past two years.

McManus is coming off a season in which he attempted 13 kicks of 50 yards or longer, making eight of them for a respectable field goal percentage of 61.5 percent.

That’s where his overall numbers can be a little deceiving. He attempted the second-most amount of 50-plus-yard field goals of his career in 2022, and the majority of his misses came off those long attempts.

McManus was 20-of-23 (86.9 percent) from anything under 50 yards, going 10-for-10 from 40-49 yards out.

Simply put, he’s everything the Titans could possibly want in their kicker, both short and long term.

Tennessee currently has two unproven legs in their camp, and unless Caleb Shudak and/or Trey Wolff look absolutely amazing, this is the type of dream scenario the Titans should be trying to turn into a reality.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Brandon McManus was last player to have beaten Chiefs as a Bronco

Denver releasing K Brandon McManus means that no player on their roster has ever beaten the #Chiefs as a member of the #Broncos.

[connatix div_id=”3f8b015acdd24c648befc5d5dac47469″ player_id=”afe1e038-d3c2-49c0-922d-6511a229f69c” cid=”7cbcea0d-4ce2-4c75-9a8d-fbe02a192c24″]

It has been a very long time since the Denver Broncos have beaten the Kansas City Chiefs in a game of football. So long, in fact, that there are no players remaining on Denver’s roster that have ever beaten the Chiefs as a member of the Broncos.

That’s all thanks to Denver’s decision to cut K Brandon McManus, who had been the team’s kicker since 2014. The now 31-year-old McManus was the last remaining player to have played in a Broncos win against the Chiefs.

Kansas City notched the fifteenth consecutive win against Denver on Jan. 1, 2023, with a 27-24 win at Arrowhead Stadium.

You have to go all the way back to Sept. 17 of 2015 to find the last time the Broncos beat the Chiefs. During that game at Arrowhead Stadium, the Broncos’ starting offense consisted of players like Peyton Manning, C.J. Anderson, Demaryius Thomas (RIP) and Emmanuel Sanders. Their defense had players like Von Miller, Demarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, Chris Harris and TJ Ward.

The inverse phenomenon can’t be said of the Chiefs’ roster. Travis Kelce and James Winchester both played in that game back in 2015, so they’ve experienced defeat to the Broncos. They’ll lean on that as a reminder as Sean Payton’s group tries to turn the tides in the 2023 NFL season.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

Broncos sign DL Tyler Lancaster after cutting Brandon McManus

Tyler Lancaster totaled 110 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 59 games (21 starts) with the Packers.

[connatix div_id=”3f8b015acdd24c648befc5d5dac47469″ player_id=”afe1e038-d3c2-49c0-922d-6511a229f69c” cid=”7cbcea0d-4ce2-4c75-9a8d-fbe02a192c24″]

The Denver Broncos have already filled the roster spot that was opened up by the release of kicker Brandon McManus on Tuesday.

The Broncos signed defensive lineman Tyler Lancaster on Tuesday, the team announced. Following that move, Denver’s 90-man offseason roster is now full once again.

Lancaster (6-3, 313 pounds) entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Northwestern with the Green Bay Packers in 2018. After four seasons in Green Bay, Lancaster joined the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022. He suffered an injury last August and was ultimately cut by the Raiders last September.

Lancaster totaled 110 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 59 games (21 starts) with the Packers. He now lands in Denver, presumably to compete for rotational playing time as a nose tackle.

The Broncos will eventually have to make a cut to make room for an incoming kicker to replace McManus. Whether that incoming kicker will be Brett Maher or somebody else remains to be seen.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

Cowboys must consider Brandon McManus at kicker after Denver release

From @ToddBrock24f7: McManus is out in Denver after 9 seasons. He joins a list of experienced veterans that the Cowboys should look at for the 2023 roster.

“There’s veterans on the street right now.”

That’s what Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel said recently when asked about the team’s admittedly shaky status at the kicker position, adding, “Anybody else on earth who is not on the team right now is under consideration.”

Well, now there’s one more veteran out there to consider.

The Denver Broncos released Brandon McManus on Tuesday after nine seasons with the club. The surprise announcement immediately caused Cowboys fans to wonder if he’d be a potential answer for the squad, which has only unproven commodity Tristan Vizcaino on the current roster.

McManus, 31, has a regular-season career field goal percentage of 81.4%, just a fraction better than Brett Maher, who is currently a free agent. Maher famously missed a league-record four PATs in the Cowboys’ wild-card win over Tampa Bay and then had another attempt blocked the following week versus San Francisco.

McManus had his worst season as a pro in 2022, missing eight field goal attempts. He is not known as having a particularly strong leg, but has been the NFL’s fourth-most accurate kicker from 54 yards or less over the past four seasons.

McManus was perfect (10-of-10 field goals, 3-of-3 PATs) during Denver’s run to the Super Bowl 50 title, but he now joins a group of high-profile free agent kickers that also includes Robbie Gould, Mason Crosby, and Ryan Succop. Fassel mentioned each of them by name- and even included Maher- when asked about the team’s possible options for 2023.

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

Here’s a quick look at how the five veterans compare (regular season plus playoffs):

Age FGA FGM Pct XPA XPM Pct 2022FG
Mason Crosby 38 520 426 81.9% 823 803 97.6% 86.2%
Robbie Gould 40 546 476 87.2% 675 659 97.6% 87.5%
Brett Maher 33 120 97 80.8% 145 134 92.4% 91.1%
Brandon McManus 31 284 233 82.0% 289 280 96.9% 77.8%
Ryan Succop 36 403 336 83.4% 518 498 96.1% 81.6%

Maher’s postseason misses are the ones that stick out for Cowboys fans; they were the most recent and the most troubling. But in the regular season, Maher outperformed everyone on this list.

Take any other factor, though- age, home kicking conditions, experience- and you can almost convince yourself that any kicker on the list is the way for Dallas to go in 2023.

But it will all come down to what the club’s special teams guru sees.

“There’s a lot of guys that have performed in the NFL,” Fassel said.

It’s probably time to start bringing some of them in, because the Cowboys are suddenly not the only team shopping for a kicker.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[mm-video type=video id=01h0n82768pc0547apn4 playlist_id=01eqbwens7sctqdrqg player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01h0n82768pc0547apn4/01h0n82768pc0547apn4-46c9315d909dc3f8450f66b3998e4838.jpg]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Broncos to host free agent Brett Maher after releasing Brandon McManus

The Broncos are bringing in veteran free agent kicker Brett Maher for a workout on Wednesday, according to Aaron Wilson.

[connatix div_id=”3f8b015acdd24c648befc5d5dac47469″ player_id=”afe1e038-d3c2-49c0-922d-6511a229f69c” cid=”7cbcea0d-4ce2-4c75-9a8d-fbe02a192c24″]

The Denver Broncos wasted no time bringing in a potential replacement after releasing kicker Brandon McManus on Tuesday.

After parting ways with McManus, the Broncos plan to bring in veteran free agent Brett Maher for a workout on Wednesday, according to KPRC-TV’s Aaron Wilson.

Maher, 33, played under coach Sean Payton with the New Orleans Saints in 2021. Maher went 16-of-18 (88.9%) on field goal attempts that season and 10-of-12 on extra point attempts in eight games.

Maher has spent time with three CFL teams and seven NFL teams in his career. He played two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys from 2018-2019 before his stint with the Saints in 2021 and then returned to the Cowboys in 2022.

Last year in Dallas, Maher went 29-of-32 (90.6%) on field goal attempts and 50-of-53 on extra point attempts in 17 regular-season games (the postseason was a different story). He had a base salary of $911,387 last year, a significantly lower number than McManus had in Denver ($3.75 million).

If the Broncos end up signing Maher, he will likely join the team with a cheaper contract after posing better numbers than McManus in 2022. Maher is one of 10 kickers on our list of potential free agent targets for Denver.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

12 free agent kickers Broncos could sign to replace Brandon McManus

After parting ways with Brandon McManus, the Broncos will likely consider these 12 free agent kickers.

The Denver Broncos released veteran kicker Brandon McManus on Tuesday in a move that will save between $2.5 million and $3.75 million in 2023 salary cap space.

McManus, 31, ranks second on Denver’s all-time scoring list. He had been the last remaining player on the roster from the team’s 2015 squad that won Super Bowl 50.

After McManus had a down year in 2022, his release is not a huge surprise given that new coach Sean Payton has made sweeping changes on special teams this offseason.

The Broncos do not currently have a kicker on their 90-man offseason roster, so a free agent signing is likely on the way. The list of players available includes Jared Sackett (who tried out at Denver’s rookie minicamp earlier this month) and Taylor Russolino, who filled in for McManus for one game during the 2020 season.

The list also includes accomplished veterans such as Mason Crosby and Robbie Gould and younger options including Rodrigo Blankenship. Check out the full list below.

Writing was on the wall after Brandon McManus’ down season and Broncos’ ST changes

After McManus struggled in 2022 and following sweeping changes on special teams this spring, the kicker’s release shouldn’t be a surprise.

[connatix div_id=”3f8b015acdd24c648befc5d5dac47469″ player_id=”afe1e038-d3c2-49c0-922d-6511a229f69c” cid=”7cbcea0d-4ce2-4c75-9a8d-fbe02a192c24″]

The timing of the Denver Broncos choosing to release kicker Brandon McManus on a Tuesday in May was surprising.

Denver had not signed any kickers during free agency, the team did not draft a kicker and the club did not add any undrafted kickers this spring. That made the timing a surprise — there aren’t any other kickers on the roster at the moment.

The timing was unexpected, but McManus being cut wasn’t a huge surprise in itself. The Broncos just didn’t bother with a camp competition before making the move.

McManus converted just 77.8% of his field goals last season. That marked the third-worst percentage in his career and it ranked 29th in the NFL. Those kind of numbers did not justify having the sixth-highest salary cap hit among kickers.

McManus struggled last year, and new coach Sean Payton doesn’t have a history of patience with kickers. As Andrew Mason of DenverSports.com pointed out on Twitter, Payton burned through nine different kickers in his first ten years with the New Orleans Saints before landing on Wil Lutz.

The Broncos have struggled mightily on special teams in recent seasons and Payton clearly made improving that unit a priority this offseason. Payton brought in a new special teams coordinator in Ben Kotwica and a new assistant head coach with a special teams background in Mike Westhoff.

Denver then made a change a punter, a change at long snapper, a change at kick returner, a change at punt returner and now, a change at kicker. Payton has completely revamped the Broncos’ special teams units in one offseason.

Given the coach’s history, Denver’s recent struggles at special teams and McManus’ down year in 2022, parting ways with the kicker isn’t surprising. The timing was unexpected, but moving on was inevitable.

[vertical-gallery id=620142]

Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts