Green Bay Packers kicker Brandon McManus says he plans to play Sunday despite a right quadriceps injury that head coach Matt LaFleur described to reporters as a “major concern.”
Talking to reporters after Thursday’s practice, McManus compared it to an injury he sustained but played through in 2022 with the Denver Broncos.
“I had a pretty good game (when dealing with that injury),” said McManus, who was listed as a limited practice participant. “I had two 50-yarders and a 40-yarder in that game. So like I said, I plan on playing.”
LaFleur told reporters that McManus did not sustain the injury during Green Bay’s 40-40 tie against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 28. Rather, LaFleur said his kicker was hurt during his limited participation in practice on Wednesday.
“We’ll see how he’s doing today and (Friday) and then we’ll have a plan ready to go,” LaFleur said Thursday.
That plan could be summoning Mark McNamee from their practice squad. McNamee, however, has yet to appear in an NFL regular-season game.
“It’s never the situation we want to be in in regard to first time going out there, but I think Mark has shown some good progress,” LaFleur said.
Both kickers were on the practice field Thursday, but McManus was wearing a baseball cap as opposed to a helmet.
The Packers (2-1-1) host the Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) on Sunday.
Signed to a three-year, $15.3 million contract in March, McManus, 34, has made seven of nine field-goal attempts and 11 of 12 extra-point tries in four games this season.
McManus, who won a Super Bowl with Denver in the 2015 season, has made 82.1 percent of his field-goal attempts and 97.2 percent of his extra-point tries in 176 career regular-season games with the Broncos (2014-22), Jacksonville Jaguars (2023) and Packers (2024-present).
–Field Level Media
