Getty Kicker Anders Carlson of the Green Bay Packers.
An argument can be made that the Green Bay Packers would be playing the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game this weekend if it weren’t for kicker Anders Carlson.
Fair or not, the franchise wasted little time bringing in competition for the starting job, signing Jack Podlesny on Wednesday, January 24. Podlesny earned first-team All-SEC honors at the University of Georgia in 2022 and also won the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year Award, connecting on 26-of-31 field goal tries and 73-of-74 extra point attempts.
Still, it was Carlson — who also kicked in the Southeastern Conference for the University of Auburn — the Packers selected in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft (No. 207 overall).
Meanwhile, Podlesny went undrafted and ultimately landed with the Minnesota Vikings. He signed a contract with the team on April 30, per Pro Football Reference, though the Vikings cut the 23-year-old partway through the preseason on August 17.
Anders Carlson Struggled in Rookie Year With Green Bay Packers
GettyKicker Anders Carlson of the Green Bay Packers kicks a field goal during an NFC Divisional Playoff Game against the San Francisco 49ers in January 2024.
Green Bay’s choice to draft a kicker at all was somewhat curious, though Carlson has the benefit of an older brother — Daniel Carlson — who has been a successful placekicker with the Las Vegas Raiders for six seasons and earned first-team All-Pro honors following the 2022 campaign.
Whatever the reason the Packers made such a big investment in Carlson, including a four-year rookie contract worth $4 million in total, the move hasn’t worked out the way the franchise had hoped.
Carlson missed six field goals during the regular season (27-of-33) and was 34-of-39 on extra point attempts, per Pro Football Reference. He also missed a 41-yard field goal try against the San Francisco 49ers in an NFC Divisional Round Playoff Game on January 20.
The errant kick came with just over six minutes to play in the final quarter and would have put the Packers up by a touchdown. The Niners subsequently marched 69 yards down the field in a little over five minutes, claiming a three-point lead they would not relinquish.
Matt LaFleur Indicated Lack of Faith in Anders Carlson Before Playoff Game
GettyHead coach Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers.
Tom Rinaldi of FOX Sports offered an in-game report almost immediately after Carlson missed the crucial kick, in which he quoted comments made by Packers head coach Matt LaFleur during an interview that took place in a production meeting ahead of the game.
INSANE… #Packers HC Matt LaFleur talking about his kicker Anders Carlson
“WHEN HE GOES OUT THERE, I JUST PRAY”
💀💀💀💀
“When we talked to the head coach Matt LaFleur about this, he basically said, ‘When he goes out there, I just pray,'” Rinaldi said.
LaFleur spoke to media members on Monday, two days after Rinaldi’s report, and said the veteran reporter misrepresented his comments.
“That was extremely disappointing that that’s how that message got portrayed,” LaFleur said. “I’ve been a part of production meetings ever since I became a coordinator, and I’ve never had an experience like that.”
The Packers head coach did not deny making the comment, though he said he intended it as a joke. LaFleur added Monday that he had already spoken to Carlson about the report in an effort to clear the air.
Whatever LaFleur intended with his comments and his tone, the team’s actions on Wednesday — namely adding Podlesny on a reserve/futures contract — speak louder than any words LaFleur could utter.