After an uninspiring summer kicking competition involving Anders Carlson, Greg Joseph and three other kickers, the Green Bay Packers took the whole thing for granted and signed rookie Brayden Narveson from the Tennessee Titans’ reserve roster on Wednesday, a day after his final release.
Narveson, who will take Joseph’s place on the 53-man roster, hit 6-of-7 from the field and two extra points during the preseason with the Titans.
Packers fans liked Narveson after coming out of North Carolina State and kept an eye on him during the final round following his impressive preseason.
“Brayden was a kid we liked coming out and then he had a great preseason at Tennessee,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “When everything happened and he got released, we thought it was an opportunity to get a really good young kicker and give him a chance.”
Gutekunst admitted he sometimes lacks patience with specialists, but his confidence in the Packers’ 2024 roster was too high to settle for anything less than the standard option at kicker.
Carlson, the current kicker, has not taken a step forward this summer, which has forced a change. Joseph, while experienced, has not been consistent enough.
“We wanted to try to improve there, and whether it was Anders or someone from outside, it didn’t matter,” Gutekunst said. “But we had to improve.”
Narveson, a rookie, will likely get his first regular-season kicks in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles in a nationally televised game in Brazil. The Packers will have just a few days to assess Narveson’s mental toughness before he’s asked to throw big-time kicks.
“He had a great preseason where he had a 59-yard catch and a game-winning field goal at the end to handle that kind of pressure. You’re constantly monitoring those kinds of things,” Gutekunst said.
Against the Seahawks in the preseason, Narveson scored three consecutive field goals in the fourth quarter as the Titans came back to win, and his 46-yard field goal clinched the game-winning drive as time expired.
Narveson now has to prove he can be the long-term answer at kicker in Green Bay. The Packers keep Alex Hale on the practice squad as the team’s international player, but Narveson is now the man at kicker.
“We’re really excited for Brayden to be here and see what he can do. And he’s definitely got a ton of talent, and we’re excited about that,” Gutekunst said. “But at the end of the day, like all the guys that made this team, they’ve got to be productive. That’s part of the National Football League.”
