Brandon Mcmanus

Career StatsC-

Year	Team	GP	FG%
Career		154	82.0%
2025		14	80.0%
2024		11	95.2%
2023		17	81.1%
2022		17	77.8%
2021

Current Contract

Contract Value Index (CVI)

Brandon McManus's Contract Value Index lands at C-, putting the deal in a defined slice of comparable signings. The $5.1M AAV over three years reflects a mid-tier kicker investment that doesn't justify the production: his C- performance grade and 2025 season showing minimal counting stats across 14 games underscore why Green Bay lost confidence in the arrangement. At 34 years old with 12 seasons of NFL experience, McManus occupies that uncomfortable veteran space where age and declining production collide — the organization isn't paying elite money, but it's also not getting elite, or even above-average, results on the field. The Packers' decision to draft a kicker at pick 216 and subsequently release McManus sends a clear organizational message: the front office views this contract as movable and the player as replaceable, which is the harshest possible verdict on CVI. Green Bay's broader roster reshuffling — recent cuts at defensive tackle and quarterback, combined with signings at wide receiver and cornerback — paints a picture of an active front office making calculated, unsentimental decisions about incumbent contracts. McManus is now a free agent facing an uphill battle to reclaim meaningful snaps, and the narrative around his release carries no room for redemption arc framing; the media consensus is that this was a calculated downgrade, not a competitive push. The three-year structure gave Green Bay flexibility to exit, and they used it, cementing this deal as a cautionary example of overpaying a veteran kicker when the position offers deep, cheaper alternatives.

Contracts in the Same Value Band

Other same-position deals the Contract Value Index also places in the C band — a quick read on where Brandon's contract sits relative to comparable money.

Performance Analysis

Brandon McManus produces at a tier that grades a C- performance mark for Green Bay. The 34-year-old veteran's 2025 season marked a below-average execution at a position where consistency and clutch reliability are non-negotiable, and his limited production profile gave the Packers organization no meaningful reason to retain him as a long-term solution. His durability remains intact—he appeared in all 14 games—but tackle production (2 total) reflects the marginal on-field impact of a kicker whose specialty contributions failed to meet the standard expected of an established veteran on a $5.1M AAV contract. The organizational decision to trade up in the 2026 draft to select Florida kicker Trey Smack at pick 216 serves as a definitive statement: Green Bay's front office has determined that McManus's performance trajectory no longer aligns with their competitive window, and his age and contract value made him a logical casualty in an active offseason that also saw cuts at quarterback and defensive line. At 12 seasons into his NFL career, McManus is now operating without the presumption of automatic roster protection, and the media framing surrounding his release—universally cast as replacement rather than routine competition—underscores how decisively the narrative has shifted against him heading into his potential free-agent window.

How Brandon Compares at the Position

Brandon Mcmanus ranks 25th of 39 graded pks by performance. That slots Brandon between Graham Gano (C-) just ahead and Andy Borregales (C-) just behind.

Fan Sentiment

The public perception surrounding Brandon McManus has reached a genuinely dire place, and the F sentiment grade is a fair reflection of where the narrative stands heading into the 2026 offseason. The story driving everything is Green Bay's decision to trade up in the late rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft to select Florida kicker Trey Smack at pick No. 216 — a move that media coverage has almost universally framed not as routine roster competition but as an organizational vote of no confidence in McManus and his $5.1M AAV deal. That framing matters because it shifts the perception from "veteran being pushed" to "veteran being replaced," and the language circulating in recent headlines — explicitly placing McManus "on notice" — carries a pointed, dismissive tone that rarely accompanies healthy positional battles. His C- performance grade only deepens the problem, because a struggling production profile gives the organization no compelling reason to defend his roster spot publicly, and fans and analysts alike are reading the draft capital spent on Smack as confirmation that the front office agreed. The broader roster activity around Green Bay — signings at quarterback, cornerback, defensive tackle, linebacker, and guard — suggests an active, forward-looking front office that is not sentimental about incumbency, which does nothing to improve McManus's standing in the court of public opinion. At 34 years old with 12 seasons of NFL experience, McManus carries the burden of a veteran who now has to prove he belongs rather than one who commands automatic respect, and the prevailing narrative gives him little benefit of the doubt heading into training camp.