The Green Bay Packers Select A Kicker, Ending The Mason Crosby-Era

The Mason Crosby-era is over.

The Green Bay Packers used a sixth round draft pick Saturday to select Auburn kicker Anders Carlson. With that, Crosby’s 16-year run as the Packers’ kicker is over.

Carlson made 71.8% of his field goals while at Auburn (79 of 110). He went just 5-of-17 from 50-plus yards (29.4%), though, and 25-of-39 between 40 and 49 (64.1%).

Carlson averaged 61.4 yards on 313 career kickoffs and had a touchback rate of 58.5%.

Carlson suffered a torn ACL late in the 2021 campaign, returned in 2022, then had his final season cut short by a shoulder injury.

Carlson’s older brother, Daniel, was a fifth round draft pick of Minnesota in 2018, but was released that season. Daniel Carlson rebounded, though, and has made 107 of 115 field goals the last three years with Las Vegas (93.0%).

The arrival of Anders Carlson ends the brilliant career of Crosby in Green Bay.

Since the Packers selected Crosby in the seventh round of the 2007 draft, he’s been a model of consistency.

Crosby obliterated the franchise’s all-time scoring record with 1,918 points. He made 81.4% of his field goals and he eclipsed the 80.0% mark in nine of his 16 seasons.

Crosby missed most of training camp last year following right knee surgery. He proceeded to have a Crosby-like season, though, making 25-of-29 field goals (86.2%) and going 18-of-18 inside 40 yards.

Crosby made game-winning field goals against both Dallas and New England. And for the ninth time in 12 years, he made at least 80.0% of his fields goals.

“He’s been a great compass as to how we do some things in our stadium and how we play with some of the teams in our division,” Packers special teams coach Rich Bisaccia said of Crosby last season. “And the way in which he carries himself in the meetings, he’s a great leader for us.

“He’s been through a lot of football. I think he’s done a great job of echoing what we’re trying to do and how we’re trying to build our culture a little bit within the special teams units.”

Crosby jumped to No. 11 on the NFL’s all-time leading scorer list last year. And if he matches his career average of 120.0 points per year for two more seasons, he’ll jump into fourth place all-time.

If Crosby does that, though, it will now come in a different uniform.