"Countdown to camp" is a position-by-position overview of the Packers' roster heading into training camp. The series concludes with the specialists.
GREEN BAY – For the first time in five years, the Packers are poised to enter a season with the same three specialists who finished the previous year.
Green Bay fortified the future of its special teams with the re-signing of kicker Brandon McManus, who made 20 of 21 field goals and all 30 extra points in 11 regular-season appearances.
The 12-year NFL veteran proved to be the right fit with third-year punter Daniel Whelan and long snapper Matt Orzech, calming the kicking carousel that had largely lingered since Mason Crosby's departure in 2022.
The position hit a tailspin last summer after neither Anders Carlson nor Greg Joseph captured the kicking job in training camp, resulting in the Packers claiming Brayden Narveson off waivers from Tennessee after final cuts.
The Narveson experiment didn't take, as the undrafted rookie made just 12 of 17 field goals (70.6%) before being released after six games in favor of McManus (6-3, 201), who was the seventh and final kicker the Packers carried on their roster in 2024.
The 33-year-old veteran arrived with impeccable timing. Four days after signing, McManus drilled a game-winning 45-yard field goal to propel the Packers to a 24-22 victory over Houston at Lambeau Field.
A week later, McManus became the first kicker in league history to make back-to-back game-winning field goals as time expired in his first two appearances with a team when he converted a 24-yarder in a 20-17 win over Jacksonville.
While McManus laments his 38-yard miss in the Packers' wild-card loss to Philadelphia, he finished the regular season second in NFL field goal percentage (95.2%). That's the highest single-season mark in team history among kickers with at least 20 attempts.
McManus admits he asks a lot of his holder and long snapper, but Whelan (6-5, 216) and Orzech (6-3, 245), respectively, were up to the task.
Orzech, 30, returns for a third season in Green Bay after signing with Packers as an unrestricted free agent in 2023. He's yet to miss a game due to injury through his first five NFL seasons.
The 26-year-old Whelan had an encouraging second season as Green Bay's punter with 20 punts traveling 50-plus yards and a career-high 22 falling inside the 20-yard line.
Whelan averaged 46.1 gross yards with a 40.2 net average on 56 punts, both good for the third-highest single-season marks in team annals dating back to 1976.
The stability of the Packers' special teams extends well past the specialists, too. While veteran stalwarts Eric Wilson and Corey Ballentine left in free agency, Green Bay brings back most of its core coverage players while adding linebackers Isaiah Simmons and Kristian Welch.
It also sounds like the Packers will have use of two-time All-Pro kick returner Keisean Nixon, who this offseason softened his stance returning kicks in 2025.
Nixon has averaged 27.0 yards on 89 kickoff returns over the past three seasons, including a 105-yard return for a touchdown against Minnesota in 2022.
Although Jayden Reed is back after averaging 8.2 yards on 25 punt returns the past two seasons, the Packers added another potential return option with the signing of three-time Super Bowl champion Mecole Hardman in March.
In seven NFL seasons, Hardman has averaged 23.8 yards on 45 kickoff returns and 9.2 yards on 89 punt returns while producing touchdowns on both units.
The following is the last installment in a series of photos examining the Packers' roster position by position. This installment examines the specialists.
K Brandon McManus, LS Matt Orzech and P Daniel Whelan
K Brandon McManus
K Brandon McManus
K Brandon McManus
K Brandon McManus
P Daniel Whelan
P Daniel Whelan
P Daniel Whelan
P Daniel Whelan
LS Matt Orzech
LS Matt Orzech
LS Matt Orzech
LS Matt Orzech
