The Green Bay Packers are bringing in kicker Brandon McManus, according to a source familiar with the matter. The source spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the agreement had not yet been publicly disclosed. This action comes after the NFL determined last month that there was insufficient evidence to back charges that McManus sexually assaulted two flight attendants during the Jacksonville Jaguars’ trip to London last year. The league has closed the matter, but it can be reopened if new evidence emerges.
A civil action is still continuing in Duval County Circuit Court in Florida. Attempts to contact the lawyers representing the women concerned have been unsuccessful. In court documents filed in late May and early September, the women claimed that McManus attempted to kiss one of them and rubbed against both while they were performing their duties on the trans-Atlantic flight on September 28, 2023. The team was in England for a series of games.
McManus signed with Washington as a free agency in March and was on their roster when the lawsuit was filed, but he was removed shortly thereafter. The 33-year-old kicker joined the Packers after rookie Brayden Narveson missed his fifth field goal of the season in a game against Arizona. Green Bay has struggled to find a reliable kicker since Mason Crosby, the team’s kicker from 2007 to 2022, retired as the franchise’s all-time scoring leader. The Packers selected Auburn’s Anders Carlson in the sixth round of the 2023 draft, but he finished a disappointing rookie season by missing a critical 41-yard field goal in a playoff defeat to San Francisco.
After Carlson and veteran Greg Joseph competed in training camp, the Packers chose to take Narveson off waivers from the Tennessee Titans. This season, Narveson has made 12 of 17 field goal tries, however none of them have been longer than 49 yards. McManus, who was born in Philadelphia, attended Temple University before spending his first nine seasons with the Denver Broncos, where he won the Super Bowl in 2015. He played for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023.
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