A regular talking point out of Green Bay this offseason, the team’s kicker situation became a bit clearer Wednesday. The Packers have reduced their kicking group from three to two.
Green Bay waived Jack Podlesny, according to a team announcement. The former Georgia specialist, who had signed a reserve/futures deal with the team in January, was competing with Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph during the offseason program.
Podlesny, a 2023 undrafted free agent with the Vikings, spent last offseason in the Twin Cities but did not make the team by roster cutdown day. The Vikings released him in mid-August, and he spent the remainder of the season out of football. After Carlson struggled toward the end of last season, the Packers brought in competition. Now, Joseph is Carlson’s sole competitor for the kicking job.
This development follows a report suggesting the Packers might consider a three-way competition going into camp. However, teams rarely bring three kickers to camp, as 90-man roster spots are typically allocated to other positions. Joseph, who secured the Vikings’ kicking job over Podlesny last year, completed a third season as Minnesota’s kicker. After Joseph signed with the Packers in late March, the Vikings replaced him with sixth-round pick Will Reichard.
Podlesny was Georgia’s kicker during both of the team’s recent national championship seasons, achieving at least 81% accuracy on his field goals in each of his three seasons. His best performance was in 2022, with a 26-of-31 record. While the Packers might look outside the organization if the current kicker competition disappoints, it now appears to be a Carlson-Joseph showdown.
