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Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff WriterAug 27, 2024, 10:23 AM 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. — Anders Carlson will not get a chance to make up for his final kick last season, the missed 41-yard field goal attempt that would have given the Green Bay Packers a seven-point lead late in their 24-21 playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
The team cut Carlson on Tuesday as they trimmed their roster to 53 players.
The Packers also waived both backup quarterbacks they had in camp — second-year pro Sean Clifford (who was Jordan Love‘s backup last season) and rookie seventh-round pick Michael Pratt. This comes a day after the Packers traded a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Tennessee Titans for backup quarterback Malik Willis. It’s possible the Packers would bring back Clifford or Pratt in some capacity, such as the practice squad, if they clear waivers.
The Packers placed two players on season-ending injured reserve: running back AJ Dillon (neck) and tight end Tyler Davis (shoulder). Dillon sustained a stinger in the Aug. 17 joint practice with the Denver Broncos. There was increasing concern because Dillon sustained a similar injury late last season. Dillon, the primary backup running back last season, returned this season on a one-year contract.
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A sixth-round pick last year and the brother of Las Vegas Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson, the younger Carlson missed 13 total kicks last season (including extra points and field goals) in 19 regular-season and playoff games combined. His regular-season field goal rate of 81.8% ranked 25th among regular kickers last season. In all, he was 82.9% on field goals including playoffs and 85.4% on extra points.
“He’s got to improve,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said after last season. “That’s important. I thought he did some really good things this year and he improved as the year went on, but that’s going to be important, and competition is going to be part of that.”
Carlson’s percentage in practice and preseason games this summer wasn’t much better than his 2023 success rate, and he closed the preseason by missing a 32-yard field goal against the Baltimore Ravens.
However, he was slightly better than veteran Greg Joseph, the former Minnesota Vikings kicker who was signed in March. The Packers kept Joseph on the initial 53-man roster Tuesday, but it’s possible the Packers could go outside for their kicker, much like they did at backup quarterback Monday by trading for Willis.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur was vague after the preseason finale when asked whether the opening-day kicker was on the roster.
“You know, that’s not even a question for me, to be honest with you,” LaFleur said deferring to Gutekunst. “We’ve got a really good sample size, and then we’ll see what happens just around the league.”
