Why The Packers Need To Cut Rookie Kicker Trey Smack — Immediately
· Yahoo Sports
Green Bay Packers rookie kicker Trey Smack (28) leads the NFL in missed kicks and has made just 68.9% of his field goals.
Visit mwafrika.life for more information.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.Matt LaFleur was adamant.
The question is why?
Green Bay’s head coach was asked if Trey Smack was still his kicker following a night where the rookie missed two chip shot field goals that most high schoolers would have converted — and the Packers suffered a crushing 20-17 loss at Detroit.
“Yes!” LaFleur said when asked about Smack. “I think (Smack’s) proved that he can do it and I know he can do it.”
Really? How’s that exactly?
After Sunday, Smack leads the NFL with seven missed kicks. He’s a combined 24-of-31 on field goals and extra points for an NFL-worst conversion percentage of 77.4%.
Smack missed a 26-yard field goal on Green Bay’s opening drive against the Lions, the shortest missed kick in the NFL this season. Then with the game tied, 17-17, with 3:25 left, Smack missed a 35-yard field goal.
The 26- and 35-yarder are two of the three shortest misses of the season. And while the 35-yarder was technically labeled a blocked field goal, Smack didn’t get the necessary elevation on the kick, allowing Detroit’s D.J. Wonnum to get a finger on it.
Loyalty is one thing, and the Packers might lead the league in that department.
But idiocy is another, and right now continuing to roll with a rookie kicker who can’t kick borders on absurdity.
Smack is now 11-of-16 on field goals this season — a dreaful 68.9% — and all five of his misses have been inside of 50 yards. He’s also 13-of-15 on extra points, meaning he’s 24-of-31 on all kicks (77.4%).
Last year, Brandon McManus was 56-of-63 on all regular season kicks (88.9%). In 2023, then-rookie Andres Carlson was 61-of-72 (84.7%).
Both men were fired when the season ended.
Recently, the Los Angeles Rams dumped kicker Harrison Mevis when he was 19-of-23 overall (82.6%). That’s 5.2% higher than Smack, and it cost Mevis his job.
The Rams are a serious organization, though, gunning for championships year after year with bold moves and a cut throat attitude towards failure.
The Packers tell the paying customers that they consider themselves Super Bowl contenders. But Super Bowl contenders don’t keep going to bat with a kicker who’s clearly broken.
There’s nothing serious about that.
During a gorgeous, sun-splashed Week 5 game against Chicago, Smack left seven points off the board with two missed field goals and a missed extra point. Fortunately for the Packers, they overcame such ineptitude and prevailed, 31-7.
There was no margin for error Sunday, when Smack left six points off the board in a three-point loss inside climate controlled Ford Field. Those kind of defeats keep teams out of the playoffs.
Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst recently tried fixing his disastrous offensive line by signing three veterans. Now, he needs to do the same with the kicking position.
Proven veterans such as Justin Tucker, Graham Gano, Younghoe Koo, Matt Prater and McManus are all available. And while the Packers salivate over Smack’s long-term potential, they should be “in it to win it” in 2026 — not concerned about 2027 and beyond.
Remember, Green Bay has been the NFC’s No. 7 seed three straight seasons, and has just one playoff win since 2021. The time is now for LaFleur, Gutekunst & Co.
“We gotta wipe this one clean and gotta move on and hopefully we can be a little bit better,” LaFleur said.
Chances are the only way that happens is by parting ways with Smack.
Whether or not the Packers have the valor to do so remains to be seen.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com