Mason Crosby - Pro Football Rumors

Reunion Between Packers, K Mason Crosby Unlikely

July 20th, 2023 at 9:39am CST by Adam La Rose

When the Packers selected Anders Carlson in the sixth round of this year’s draft, veteran Mason Crosby‘s time in Green Bay seemed to be over. The door had remained opened to a potential reunion, but that no longer appears to be the case.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said in April that a new contract for Crosby, 38, was under consideration. The latter has spent his entire 16-year career in Green Bay, never missing a game along the way. Crosby had a strong season overall in 2022, connecting on 25 of 29 field goal attempts and all but two of his extra point tries. He went just one-for-four on field goals beyond 50 yards, however, and the presence of Carlson as a long-term replacement points to Crosby heading elsewhere to extend his NFL career.

Indeed, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic notes that an underwhelming performance during training camp and the preseason from Carlson will not be enough to warrant a Crosby reunion (subscription required). The veteran no longer lives in Green Bay, making him one of several experienced options at the kicking position on the lookout for a new opportunity as training camps are set to get underway.

Robbie Gould, Randy Bullock and Brett Maher all remain unsigned at this point, as teams search for younger, most cost-effective options in the kicking game. Gould has made clear his desire to continue his career outside of San Francisco after his 49ers tenure unintentionally came to an end this offseason. It will be interesting to monitor how much Crosby is willing or able to do the same after a lengthy run with one team.

Green Bay has Carlson – who only eclipsed 72% on his field goal percentage in one of his five seasons at Auburn – on the roster, along with former UDFA Daniel Whelan. That pair will have plenty of questions to answer during camp, while Crosby weighs his options regarding the post-Packers chapter of his career.

Packers Open To Re-Signing K Mason Crosby, S Adrian Amos

April 30th, 2023 at 9:30am CST by Rory Parks

The Packers selected a kicker, Auburn’s Anders Carlson, in the sixth round of this year’s draft. That has led to plenty of justified speculation that Mason Crosby‘s tenure in Green Bay has come to an end, though GM Brian Gutekunst indicated that is not necessarily the case.

Gutekunst told reporters, including Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that he has not ruled out a new contract for Crosby — who is presently a free agent — and that he just “really liked” Carlson (Twitter link). Still, it would seem that only injury to, or underperformance from, Carlson and reserve/futures signee Parker White would open the door to a Crosby return, as Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com suggests.

Carlson, the younger brother of Raiders K Daniel Carlson, is the first kicker Green Bay has drafted since Crosby himself was selected in the sixth round of the 2007 draft. Crosby has operated as the club’s kicker ever since, though he has never received Pro Bowl or All-Pro honors. In 2022, his 86.2% field goal conversion rate was the fourth-highest mark of his career, but it was a middle-of-the-pack showing overall. He also made just one of four attempts from 50+ yards.

Anders Carlson, meanwhile, does not have a particularly notable college resume. Over five seasons with the Tigers, he made just 71.8% of his attempts, which included a 68.4% success rate across his last two collegiate years. He also sustained a torn ACL in November 2021, so he is not necessarily a surefire bet to make the Packers’ roster.

Gutekunst also said that he remains open to a reunion with safety Adrian Amos and that he has stayed in contact with Amos’ camp (Twitter link via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic). We heard last week that Darnell Savage would get the opportunity to reclaim his starting safety job, and even if he is successful in that regard, there is room for another backend defender to compete with the likes of Tarvarius Moore and Anthony Johnson Jr., who was added in the seventh round of the draft yesterday.

Amos garnered interest from the Ravens this offseason, but his free agency stay has otherwise been a quiet one. While he set a career-high with 102 tackles in 2022, he earned a poor 53.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which has generally been high on his work throughout the course of his career.

Packers Work Out Four Kickers

August 22nd, 2022 at 7:16pm CST by Ben Levine

The Week 1 status of Packers kicker Mason Crosby is up in the air, and the organization is eyeing some free agents in case they need reinforcement. According to ProFootballNetwork.com’s Aaron Wilson, the Packers worked out kickers Matt Ammendola, Chase McLaughlin, Chandler Staton, and Parker White today (Twitter link). The team also auditioned punter Cameron Dicker.

Crosby underwent knee surgery during the offseason, landing him on the physically unable to perform list. The Packers haven’t said if the veteran will be ready to go for the start of the season, but today’s workouts indicate that the Packers are planning to roll without him.

The Packers recently signed Ramiz Ahmed to fill in for Crosby, and the Packers are likely considering a competition for that potential early-season work. Ammendola and McLaughlin are the two kickers with NFL experience; Ammendola connected on 68.4 percent of his field goal tries last year while McLaughlin converted 71.4 percent of his own.

Crosby had a down year in 2021, converting only 73.5 percent of his field goal attempts (his worst percentage since 2017). Still, the Packers legend has connected on 81.1 percent of his field goal tries throughout his 15-year career. While Green Bay may temporarily roster a second kicker to open the season, there’s a good chance that fill-in will be demoted to the practice squad once Crosby is back to full health.

Dicker, an undrafted rookie out of Texas, spent the early part of the preseason with the Rams. Pat O’Donnell was brought in this offseason to replace Corey Bojorquez as the starting punter, and there’s a good chance that the team is just preparing their contact list in case of an injury.

Packers Place Nine Players On PUP To Start Camp

July 23rd, 2022 at 4:07pm CST by Ely Allen

Sat, 4:07pm:

As mentioned as a possibility last night, the Packers made an addition to their PUP list today, placing star left tackle David Bakhtiari on the list after not including him in their first moves last night, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

Bakhtiari missed all but one game last season as he recovered from an ACL tear that he suffered in Week 16 of the 2020 NFL season. He spent most of 2021 rehabilitating before finally making his season-debut in a Week 18 game that had no bearing on the team’s playoff positioning. He was inactive for Green Bay’s playoff loss to San Francisco.

Reiterating what was said yesterday, there is no need for Packers fans to fret quite yet. This is a natural process for NFL teams, especially concerning players returning from a major injury. As long as Bakhtiari comes off the PUP list in the preseason, he should have no restrictions going into regular season play.

Fri, 9:52pm:

As many teams are making necessary adjustments to their injury lists, the Packers joined in today, adding twelve players overall, nine to the physically unable to perform list and three to the non-football injury list, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.

The biggest surprise on the list was rookie second-round pick Christian Watson. An injury has not been disclosed for the wide receiver, who recently signed his rookie contract. Similarly, undrafted rookie defensive tackle Hauati Pututau was placed on the list for an undisclosed reason.

Four players placed on the PUP list were expected, as they are returning from major injuries. Tight end Robert Tonyan missed half of last season after tearing his ACL in late-October. The same game saw then-rookie running back Kylin Hill suffer a season-ending knee injury. Shortly after, tackle Elgton Jenkins tore his ACL, as well, ending his season after only eight starts. Linebacker Randy Ramsey also suffered an season-ending injury before the season even began after serving in 2020 as a core special teamer.

The three remaining players, kicker Mason Crosby, defensive lineman Dean Lowry, and running back Patrick Taylor, were all placed on the list with no information as to what has put them there.

That’s five expected starters, Watson, Tonyan, Jenkins, Lowry, and Crosby, on the PUP. Packers’ fans will be relieved not to see left tackle David Bakhtiari placed on the PUP list a year after missing all but one game last year recovering from an ACL tear suffered in late-2020.

There could always be additions to the list, as it isn’t official until Tuesday. Additionally, a player can come off of the list anytime during the preseason and can’t be on the list once they’ve practiced with the team. Any players still on the PUP list at the start of the regular season will be required to sit out a minimum of six games, but they won’t count against the roster as the team trims to 53 players.

While the number of players on the list may be alarming, there’s little to worry about as of right now for these Packers. As long as they come off of the list before the season starts, there will be no league-restrictions on their participation.

Packers Won’t Rule Out Mason Crosby

February 25th, 2022 at 10:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Mason Crosby could still be in the Packers’ plans. This week, Packers GM Brian Gutekunst told reporters that the veteran kicker could stick in 2022, despite a rocky ’21.

“For where our football team is, having a championship kind of kicker, a guy who can compete at that level, is important,” Gutekunst said.

Crosby missed nine field goals and a pair of extra points last year — a far cry from his best work in previous years. In 2019, Crosby connected on 91% of his FG tries, setting a new personal watermark en route to a three-year, $12.9MM deal. Then, in 2020, he was flawless on all 16 of his FG attempts.

Even though Crosby will turn 38 in September, there’s reason to believe that he could rebound. Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that Crosby is friendly with Aaron Rodgers. Gutekunst even alluded to that in his scrum, which was mostly dedicated to the MVP’s future in Green Bay.

In other Packers news, the club is aiming to retain both outside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell and cornerback Rasul Douglas. Campbell notched 146 stops, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and two interceptions last year en route to First-Team All-Pro honors. Douglas, meanwhile, managed two pick-sixes while leading the Packers with five interceptions.

NFC North Notes: Packers, Rodgers, Vikings

August 5th, 2020 at 6:43pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Let’s take a quick spin around the NFC North:

Appearing on a recent episode of “10 Questions with Kyle Brandt,” Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers confirmed he was surprised Green Bay didn’t select a wide receiver in the 2020 draft, and also admitted he’s likely to be traded in the future due to the Packers’ addition of first-round signal-caller Jordan Love (Twitter link via Kevin Clark of The Ringer). The entire clip is well-worth a watch, as Rodgers doesn’t indicate any anger at the Love pick — instead, he comes off as pragmatic and realistic regarding his future in Green Bay. The Packers could most likely move on from Rodgers — whether via trade or release — after the 2021 season.
Incumbent Vikings left tackle Riley Reiff is likely to stay put on the blindside, so second-round pick Ezra Cleveland has been working at guard, offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak told reporters, including Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Cleveland, who played tackle at Boise State, hasn’t seen much action at guard, but it’s possible he could compete with Pat Elflein and Dru Samia for a starting role at either left or right guard. Minnesota ranked in the top-half of the league in Football Outsiders‘ offensive line metrics in 2019.
Packers kicker Mason Crosby and tight end Jace Sternberger, as well as Bears defensive tackle John Jenkins, were among the NFL players recently placed on the COVID reserve list, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Packers, Mason Crosby Agree To Extension

February 22nd, 2020 at 4:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Mason Crosby will not hit free agency. The Packers are bringing their longtime kicker back on another extension, according to agent Mike McCartney (on Twitter).

The sides agreed to a three-year deal, tethering Crosby to the Packers through the 2022 season. This will be the 35-year-old kicker’s 14th season with Green Bay. The three-year pact is worth $12.9MM, a source told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (Twitter link). He’ll get $6MM in year one of the deal and $9.5MM through the first two. As Pelissero points out, that makes Crosby the NFL’s third-highest paid kicker.

Crosby, who made $3.2MM in base salary last season, is by far the longest-tenured kicker in Packers history. He’s played in 208 games with the franchise — 64 more than the next-closest Packer kicker. Crosby passed Donald Driver last season for the No. 2 spot among games played as a Packer, now trailing only Brett Favre (255).

Last season marked his most accurate as a pro, with the veteran specialist connecting on 91% of his field goal attempts. Crosby made connected on fewer than 82% of his field goal tries in 2017 and ’18, with the latter season marred by a rough day in Detroit when he went 1-for-5. Crosby missed just two field goals in all of 2019, also making 40 of 41 extra point attempts. For his career, however, Crosby’s 81% make rate ranks just 46th all time — behind 21 of his active peers.

The Packers still have Bryan Bulaga and Blake Martinez looming as free agents, but they have locked down their second-longest-tenured player. While Crosby is not the NFL’s oldest active kicker, he has been in his current post longer than all but two kickers — Adam Vinatieri in Indianapolis and Stephen Gostkowski in New England. Both players began their respective runs with their current team in 2006; the Packers used a sixth-round pick on Crosby a year later.

Packers Likely To Keep Mason Crosby

October 8th, 2018 at 2:47pm CST by Zachary Links

Mason Crosby‘s five misses cost the Packers a win on Sunday, but it doesn’t sound like they’ll be making a kicking change. On Monday, head coach Mike McCarthy indicated that the club isn’t exploring outside options to replace the 34-year-old.

“He’s got to make those kicks. He’s a proven highly successful kicker, and I believe in him but he’s got to make those kicks. It’s a different game at halftime (if he makes those three first-half) kicks,” McCarthy said (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky).

Crosby missed four of five field goal attempts in the Packers’ 31-23 loss to the Lions. He also missed an extra point in the second half of an uncharacteristically poor performance.

Crosby has been with the Packers since 2007 and the club has stuck by him through trying times before. In some games, it seemed like Crosby couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn, but the Packers retained him despite a league-low 63.6% conversion rate. Their faith in him was rewarded as he nailed 85% of his attempts from 2013-2017.

“I think he’s one of the greatest kickers of all time,” Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said of Crosby. “I’ve always said he and Robbie Gould, what they do in the elements over the years is some of the finest kicking that I’ve seen in my time. Obviously he’s disappointed. I don’t think he expected this. We have a ton of faith in him. He’s done it for a long time, made some big kicks for us over the years. They’ve got to clean the operation up: snap, hold and he’s got to make them.”

Packers Re-Sign Mason Crosby

March 5th, 2016 at 8:45am CST by Ben Levine

SATURDAY, 8:45am: Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has several more details on the deal. Crosby will be paid $6.15MM in 2016, and his salary cap number will be worth $2.4MM.

The contract contains escalators that could increase the value over the final three years, and the kicker will have $1.25MM worth of prorated signing bonus as cap obligation for each year of the contract. This means if the team wanted to cut him following the 2016 season, they’d have to “absorb” $3.75MM into their cap. If they wanted to cut him a year later, they’d be responsible for $2.5MM.

WEDNESDAY, 1:34pm: The Packers have officially announced their new deal with Crosby in a press release.

TUESDAY, 6:25pm: Crosby’s contract is worth $16.1MM with a $5MM signing bonus, tweets Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports. ESPN’s Rob Demovsky tweets that Crosby’s $4.025MM average annual salary trails only Justin Tucker and Stephen Gostkowski among kickers.

5:47pm: Although the Packers decided to not slap kicker Mason Crosby with the franchise tag, there was still a belief that the long-time Green Bay standout would return to the franchise. Those sentiments proved to be accurate, as Crosby’s agent, Mike McCartney, announced on Twitter that the kicker has signed a four-year contract with the Packers.

This was presumably the ideal route for the organization, as the franchise tag would have required the team to pay Crosby $4.5MM for 2016. Our own Luke Adams wrote that Crosby would likely secure a lower annual value if he signed an extension, although he should expect more overall guaranteed money.

The 31-year-old has spent the entirety of his nine-year career with the Packers, and he’s coming off one of the best seasons of his career. Crosby finished with career-highs in field goal percentage (85.7 percent) and efficiency from 50-plus yards (80 percent). The veteran kicker was also perfect on extra points, improving his career average to 99.1-percent. The former sixth-round pick has yet to miss a game during his career.

Extra Points: Vernon, Crosby, Bears, Draft

February 29th, 2016 at 10:10pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The fate of defensive end Olivier Vernon will shape how the Dolphins approach their offseason, writes Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald. The Dolphins have until Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET to place the franchise tag ($15.7MM) or transition tag ($12.7MM) on Vernon. But doing either of those things would make it especially difficult for them to keep fellow pass rusher Cameron Wake and running back Lamar Miller, which they want to do. If he hits the open market, Vernon could end up with a long-term deal in the range of $12MM to $14MM annually, per Beasley, who adds there’s an outside possibility Miami will slap the franchise tag on the 25-year-old and then trade him.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

The Packers are unlikely to use the $4.572MM franchise tag on longtime kicker Mason Crosby, reports Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. As of last week, there was optimism the Packers and Crosby would agree on a contract and render the tag unnecessary. If that doesn’t happen by March 7, Crosby will be free to start negotiating with other teams.
Even though he’s coming off a personal-best eight-sack season, the Bears could release edge rusher Lamarr Houston, one well-placed AFC executive told Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Cutting Houston would open up over $4MM of cap space for the Bears this year. When PFR’s Dallas Robinson previewed the Bears’ offseason earlier this month, he named Houston as a possibility for the chopping block.
Ole Miss defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche has visits with 19 teams set up, according to Tony Pauline of WalterFootall.com. That number has increased from the 15 Pauline reported Sunday.