Last season, Packers rookie kicker Anders Carlson was a disappointment. The sixth-round pick was inconsistent throughout his first NFL campaign. He missed more combined field goals and extra points than any other kicker in the league.

In addition to missing six field goals and five extra points during the regular season, Carlson missed a key field goal in the Packers playoff loss to the 49ers that would have given the Pack a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Packers lost the game 24-21. Had Carlson made the field goal, it would have changed the complexion of the game.  

GM Brian Gutekunst wasted little time in creating competition for Carlson. He signed veteran Greg Joseph shortly after the Packers playoff loss. The former Vikings kicker gave Carlson an experienced challenger.

The Packers also signed Jack Podlesny, an undrafted free agent out of Georgia before OTAs. The team released Podlesny after the offseason program and signed undrafted free agent James Turner. The former University of Michigan star was the least consistent of the three kickers in training camp. The Packers released him earlier this week.

The battle is now between Carlson and Joseph with only one of them likely to make the 53-man roster.

Since the Packers invested a draft pick in Carlson and he has a stronger leg, the coaching staff and front office would prefer to see Carlson win the job. But they aren’t going to jeopardize the team’s chances to contend in the NFC by hanging on to a kicker that isn’t performing well.

Carlson didn’t waste the offseason. He spent time working on his game and made a small adjustment to his kicking motion. It involved moving his plant foot a bit closer to his kicking foot. This was designed to correct his misses from a year ago, most of which went wide to the left.

“I think just the feel you have in your stance is important,” Carlson explained. “Feeling like you’re confident and you believe in the kick. Just believing in your process, believing in your stance, and from there it’s all automatic. When the snap goes, you go. It’s kind of just muscle memory.”

The results were immediately noticeable. Carlson hit his first 11 field goal tries in training camp. Overall, he has made 21-of-24 kicks. Two of his misses came from 50 and 51 yards.

Of course, staying consistent will be the key for Carlson. Last season, he was up and down throughout the season. In the preseason and in training camp, he was missing too many kicks. When the regular season started, the Auburn alum got off to a great start. Carlson did not miss a kick in the Packers first five games. In the remaining 12 games he struggled again.

Joseph provides the Packers with an experienced alternative. However, last season, Joseph made 24-of-30 field goals and 36-of-38 extra points. He did that while kicking indoors in Minnesota. Joseph would face a bigger challenge kicking at Lambeau Field where the weather gets cold and the winds can be tricky, especially in the second half of the season.

In his career thus far, Joseph has struggled in the three games he played in Green Bay. He made all six of his extra point tries but he hit on just three of seven field goal tries.

Joseph is also off to a good start in training camp and continues to fight for the kicking job.

If both Carlson and Joseph both struggle, GM Brian Gutekunst indicated earlier in the offseason that he wouldn’t hesitate to bring in another kicker. So far, that appears unnecessary.

Carlson has the inside track, but he must prove to special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia and head coach Matt LaFleur that he can be a consistent NFL kicker. So far, the adjustments are working, but we are still more than a month away from the start of the 2024 season and Carlson still has a lot to prove.