"Countdown to camp" is a position-by-position overview of the Packers' roster heading into training camp. The series concludes with a look at special teams.
GREEN BAY – The Packers' kicking competition remains a three-horse race, albeit with one new face joining the mix.
After kicking against veteran Greg Joseph and Jack Podlesny all spring, incumbent Anders Carlson is set to welcome a new kicker after Green Bay claimed rookie James Turner off waivers from Detroit on June 20.
Podlesny, the former Georgia kicker signed this past January, was released a day earlier to make room for Turner on the 90-man roster.
It's all part of the Packers' plan to create more competition at kicker after Carlson ran unopposed last summer. The 2023 sixth-round pick got off to a strong start to his NFL career with 17 consecutive made kicks (seven field goals, 10 extra points) prior to missing a 43-yard field goal against Denver in Week 7.
The 6-foot-5, 219-pound kicker still finished 27-of-33 on field goals (81.8%), which represents the third-most makes by a Green Bay rookie behind only Chester Marcol (33 in 1972) and all-time leading scorer Mason Crosby (31 in 2007).
While Carlson didn't miss any field-goal attempts from inside 40 yards (20-for-20), he connected on just 34 of 39 extra points (87.2%). In the playoffs, Carlson also failed to convert an extra point in the NFC Wild Card win over Dallas and missed wide left on a 41-yard attempt in the fourth quarter of a 24-21 loss to San Francisco in the divisional round.
Looking to create more competition, the Packers brought in the fifth-year veteran Joseph shortly after the start of free agency in March.
Joseph kicked the past three years in Minnesota, where he made 100 of 121 field goals (82.6%) and 112 of 124 extra points (90.3%). He enjoyed his best NFL season in 2021, converting 33 of 38 field goals (86.8%) after besting Riley Patterson for the Vikings' kicking job.
For a moment, it looked like Green Bay may proceed into training camp with only Carlson and Joseph when it released Podlesny one week after the offseason program concluded.
However, the move was made to introduce a new variable in Turner, a second-team All-Big Ten kicker who initially signed with the Lions as a college free agent but was released on June 18 after Detroit agreed to terms with UFL standout Jake Bates.
Turner converted 65 of his 80 field-goal attempts (81.3%) and 189 of 192 extra points (98.4%) over five combined seasons at Louisville (2019-22) and Michigan (2023). In his one season with the Wolverines, Turner made three field goals from 50 yards and established a new single-season record with 65 converted point-after attempts.
The following is the last installment in a series of photos examining the Packers' roster position-by-position. This installment examines the special teams.
K Greg Joseph, K Anders Carlson, LS Matt Orzech and P Daniel Whelan
K Anders Carlson
K Anders Carlson
K Anders Carlson
K Anders Carlson
K Greg Joseph
K Greg Joseph
K Greg Joseph
K Greg Joseph
K James Turner
K James Turner
LS Matt Orzech
LS Matt Orzech
LS Matt Orzech
LS Matt Orzech
LS Peter Bowden
LS Peter Bowden
LS Peter Bowden
LS Peter Bowden
P Daniel Whelan
P Daniel Whelan
P Daniel Whelan
P Daniel Whelan
Carlson isn't the only Packers specialist looking to defend his position this summer, as 29-year-old veteran Matt Orzech aims to turn back a challenge to his long-snapping job from Wisconsin rookie Peter Bowden.
Signed as an unrestricted free agent in March 2023, Orzech spent time with both Jacksonville (2019) and the Los Angeles Rams (2021-22) before landing in Green Bay. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound long snapper possesses 67 games of NFL regular-season experience and won a Super Bowl ring with the Rams in 2021.
Orzech rotated with Bowden throughout the spring. A former five-star long-snapping recruit by Kohl's and Rubio, the 23-year-old Bowden began snapping for Wisconsin during his redshirt sophomore year in 2021.
The 6-foot-2, 239-pound rookie was named a finalist for the Patrick Mannelly Award in 2023.
The only position where the Packers are without direct on-roster competition is at punter, where 25-year-old Daniel Whelan returns for a second season.
Coming off an All-XFL season, the 6-foot-5, 216-pound punter became the first Irish-born player to play in the NFL since 1985 (kicker Neil O'Donoghue) after beating veteran Pat O'Donnell for the job in Green Bay.
Whelan played in all 17 regular-season games, punting 57 times for 2,634 yards (46.2-yard gross average, 39.7-yard net average) with 18 punts inside the 20. His 22 punts of 50-plus yards tied for the most by a Green Bay punter since JK Scott (22) in 2019.
Whelan's average of 46.2 yards per punt was the second-best single-season mark in team history behind Corey Bojorquez in 2021 (46.5 avg.).
This offseason, the Packers maintained depth and experience around their specialists with the re-signing of leading tackler Eric Wilson, Kristian Welch, Corey Ballentine, Robert Rochell, and Tyler Davis, who led Green Bay in special-teams snaps in 2022 before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in the preseason opener against Cincinnati last August.
Primary returners Keisean Nixon (kickoffs) and Jayden Reed (punts) are also back. Nixon earned his second consecutive AP All-Pro selection after leading the league with 26.1 yards per kickoff return in 2023.
