General manager Brian Gutekunst doesn’t know who his kicker will be during the 2023 season, but it’s sounding more and more like Mason Crosby returning to the cap-strapped Green Bay Packers is an unlikely option.
“We’ll see, right?” Gutekunst said from the NFL Owners Meetings on Monday when asked who will be his kicker next season. “That’s to be determined.”
Crosby, a 2007 draft pick who has played all 16 seasons with the Packers, is an unrestricted free agent. He’ll turn 39 years old later this year. Gutekunst said the salary cap is a hurdle to Crosby returning for a 17th season in 2023.
“We would never close the door. We’ll see where that goes,” Gutekunst said. “He had a good year this past year. We’re limited a little bit financially, but would never say never.”
Crosby hit 25 of 29 field goals and 37 of 39 extra points in 2022. His cap hit was $4,735,000, a number the Packers likely can’t afford in 2023.
With an Aaron Rodgers trade coming and the salary cap side of the equation still correcting, the Packers may see a change at kicker as an unavoidable step in creating a younger and cheaper roster.
Crosby is the franchise’s all-time leader in field goals and points scored.
The only other kicker on the Packers roster is Parker White, an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina with no regular-season NFL experience. It’s possible the Packers will have to use a draft pick – keep in mind, the team has seven picks on Day 3 of the 2023 draft – to add competition at kicker.
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Story originally appeared on Packers Wire