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The Jacksonville Jaguars signed Brandon McManus to a contract on Thursday and acquired a draft pick from the Detroit Lions for fellow kicker Riley Patterson.

The Jaguars did not announce terms for McManus, who reportedly got a one-year deal.

The signing comes 48 hours after McManus was a surprise release by the Denver Broncos.

Broncos coach Sean Payton on Thursday weighed in on the team’s decision to release McManus.

“Ultimately, you’re constantly looking at what’s in the best interest for your team,” Payton said. “A lot of the time, money and what your ‘musts’ are come into it. You guys know this better than anyone — the transactions continue here from now until training camp. There may be a player of two that we are still looking to sign. We factored a lot of that in and then we made that decision.”

McManus, 31, has played his entire nine-year career with the Broncos. The former team captain was the final player remaining from Denver’s Super Bowl 50 win over the Carolina Panthers.

McManus made 28 of 36 field-goal attempts and 25 of 27 extra-point tries during 17 games last season.

He has drilled 223 of 274 field-goal attempts and 277 of 286 PATs in his career with the Broncos. He ranks first in franchise history in 50-yard field-goals (42) in the regular season and postseason, and second in field goals made.

Patterson played in seven games with Detroit in 2021. Detroit sent the Jaguars a conditional seventh-round pick in 2026 for Patterson, NFL Network reported.

Patterson, 23, made 30 of 35 FG attempts and 36 of 37 PATs in 2022 for the Jaguars.

Also on Thursday, the Lions waived wide receiver Keytaon Thompson. He joined the team as an undrafted free agent out of Virginia following the 2023 NFL Draft.

–Field Level Media