As we wrote earlier this offseason, the Green Bay Packers had a chance to move on from kicker Brandon McManus if they really wanted to. Based on their actions on Friday, they don’t want to do that.
On March 13, McManus will receive a $1 million signing bonus. Often, the timing of a signing bonus can be a catalyst for a release (or contract restructure) if the team doesn’t want to keep the player on cash or cap value next season. There were no reports of McManus being released, and there were no reports of a reorganization, so we can assume McManus received the $1 million. If he hadn’t, we’d have heard about it by now.
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General manager Brian Gutekunst took every opportunity this offseason to express support for McManus and said there will be competition in 2026, simply because there is always competition at the position. Typically, the Packers’ No. 2 kicker in training camp is an international tunnel player. The only other kicker currently on Green Bay’s roster is Lucas Havrisik, who played three games for the Packers in 2025 when McManus was injured.
Since that $1 million bonus is now paid to McManus, releasing (or trading) the kicker in 2026 (at least before June 1) would result in a $4.33 million dead cap charge. The team’s salary cap savings by moving away from McManus will be less than $950,000, which is even more than the league’s minimum salary for a second-year player. Again, that salary would be less than the bonus McManus just received, so it seems unlikely the Packers will go down this route.
At this point, it’s safe to assume McManus will return in 2026 unless Havrisik significantly outperforms him in training camp. If McManus makes the roster in Week 1, his base salary of $2.1 million for the 2026 season will be fully guaranteed because he is a vested veteran.