Who Should I Start? Brandon McManus or Michael Badgley

Tuesday, March 4, 10:44 PM

The Green Bay Packers agreed to re-sign kicker Brandon McManus on Tuesday to a three-year, $15.3 million deal, including a $5 million signing bonus, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The deal was negotiated by Drew and Jason Rosenhaus. McManus joined the Packers midway through the 2024 and helped stabilize a position that had been a headache for the team ever since Mason Crosby left. The 33-year-old veteran made 20 of his 21 field-goal attempts, including all three from 50-plus yards out, and all 30 of his extra-point tries in 11 regular-season games. In the wild-card game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, he made one of his two field goals and his only point-after attempt. Given the upside of Green Bay's offense with quarterback Jordan Love, McManus should enter the 2025 season as a fringe top-12 fantasy option, at worst.

Tuesday, March 4, 3:15 PM

The Detroit Lions recently cleared veteran kicker Michael Badgley (groin) from the torn groin that kept him out for all of last season, a source tells NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. While Badgley has made a full recovery, he's now set to become a free agent next week. With the 29-year-old out of commission all year, Jake Bates served as Detroit's regular kicker and was very reliable, missing only three of his 29 field-goal attempts in 17 regular-season games while missing three of his 67 extra-point attempts in his first year in the league. Because of how good Bates looked in 2024, it's likely that the Lions will let Badgley walk in free agency as he heads into his eighth year in the NFL. Badgley has a career 82.4 percent success rate on 119 field-goal attempts in 64 games played. In four games with Detroit in 2023, he made all four of his FGs and went 13-for-15 on extra points.