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Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff WriterOct 16, 2024, 06:24 PM ET
- Rob Demovsky is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Green Bay Packers. He has covered the Packers since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2013. Demovsky is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year as selected by the NSSA. You can follow him on Twitter at @RobDemovsky.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Brandon McManus wasn’t sure if he’d get another opportunity to kick in the NFL, but when the league closed its investigation into possible violations of the personnel conduct policy last month, he said the phone began to ring.
Less than three weeks later, he was on the Green Bay Packers practice field preparing for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans at Lambeau Field.
McManus had signed with the Washington Commanders in the offseason, only to be released after two women who were working as flight attendants on the chartered airline of his former team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, used to fly to London in September 2023 filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault on the trip. The NFL on Sept. 30 issued its findings that McManus would not face disciplinary action.
“It’s been a difficult time these last couple of months,” McManus said Wednesday. “I’m happy that it’s in the past now. I was hoping and working hard for another opportunity. I’m extremely grateful for the Green Bay Packers for giving me that next chance to come back out here and play the game I love.”
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McManus said Wednesday that the lawsuit has been “resolved,” but declined to say whether there was a settlement or a dismissal of the civil suit. While Florida court records show depositions with the two women remain on the docket, attorney Brett Gallaway, who represents McManus, told ESPN in a statement Wednesday: “The case has been resolved. I look forward to seeing him play for the Packers on Sunday.”
Attorney Tony Buzbee, who is not listed on the lawsuit but said last month that he was representing the women, confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday night that the matter was “resolved” and that terms were confidential.
Buzbee issued a statement back on Sept. 30 saying the NFL never interviewed the women during its investigation. A league source said the NFL reached out multiple times to Buzbee to request a meeting but never heard back. The league could reopen the investigation if there is new evidence to consider.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said the team followed the league’s investigation closely, and after doing their own background work felt comfortable signing the veteran with a career average of 81.4% on field goals.
“I think for us really obviously he wouldn’t be available right now if those accusations weren’t out there,” Gutekunst said Wednesday. “But I think the league did a really thorough investigation, and we leaned on that as we went through it.”
“I’m not going to go into a lot of the details,” Gutekunst added, “but we feel very, very comfortable with the acquisition.”
Gutekunst also said he needed to hear from McManus before the Packers signed him.
“I had a really good conversation with Brandon last night … and his agent Drew Rosenhaus as we kind of — last week when these things got cleared up within the league and he got past some other things — those conversations kind of just picked up,” Gutekunst said. “We wanted to make sure that we did our due diligence. Again, we feel really good about where we sit right now. We’re excited to get him out there.”
McManus spent his first 10 seasons with the Denver Broncos. In his lone season with the Jaguars last year, he made 30 of 37 field goals and all 35 of his extra points.
The Packers have struggled in the kicking game since midway through last season, when then-rookie sixth-round pick Anders Carlson began to miss field goals and extra points. He missed at least one kick (field goal or extra point) in eight of the last 10 regular-season games, plus one in each of the two playoff games.
Brayden Narveson, who was released Wednesday, joined the Packers as a waiver claim the day after final roster cuts at the end of training camp. He missed five field goals in six games, the most of any kicker in the league. In all, he was 12-for-17 on field goals.
“I think where our football team is at right now, we know how important these games are,” Gutekunst said. “I thought it was important that if we had an opportunity to get a veteran kicker who’d been through some of these fires and some of this pressure that our team is going to go through over the next few weeks, I thought it was important that we acquire one. And really Brandon was the only one that was out there.”
