Amid legal troubles, the Washington Commanders decided to release former Jaguars kicker Brandon McManus before the start of this season. With him being a free agent, and NFL teams struggling to find kickers on their active roster. He could be a valuable addition.

Among the franchises that are looking for starting kickers are the Packers and Giants. They are the only teams that are short on kickers in their roster. This Sunday, the Packers started their game against the Vikings in the worst way possible. Going down 28-0 within the second quarter showed the flaws they have in their squad.

However, a late comeback after the first half could have been sweeter if Packers kicker Brayden Narveson hadn’t missed his two field goal attempts in Green Bay. His 37-yard and 49-yard misses during the first half eventually haunted the Packers as they narrowly lost by 2 points. The Packers were left to wonder what if their field goals went in, thereby completing a monumental comeback against the Vikings.

But this wasn’t the only miss that Narveson had this season. After four games, he has already missed an NFL-high four field goals. Yet another damning stat about the Packers kicker is his miss under 40 yards. Him missing that attempt meant Narveson became the only player who didn’t score his field goal among the 116 taken after four games. If the Packers do think about moving on from Narveson, McManus could be an ideal choice, as he holds an 81.3% record on his field goal attempts.

And considering the way Naverson is performing, McManus could be a huge upgrade, considering the vast experience he possesses in kicking. Yet another franchise where McManus could find himself handling the kicking duties would be the Giants. After starting kicker Graham Gono got placed in the injury reserves for a hamstring injury, they heavily missed a proven kicker against the Commanders in week 3.

When Commanders’ kicker Austin Seibert helped his team with 7-of-7 field goal attempts, the Giants couldn’t get one over the line. After the Giants scored their first touchdown, they decided to go for an extra point courtesy of punter Jamie Gillan. But astonishingly, he ended up missing his opportunity, which led to the Giants going with a different strategy.

However, their two-point conversion attempts didn’t work as the Giants fell to a narrow 21-18 defeat against the Commanders. Similar to the Packers’ struggles, the Giants could heavily benefit from adding McManus to their roster. His 33-34 extra-point attempts in 2021 and 25-27 extra-point attempts in 2022 might come in handy for the Giants this season. After getting his image tarnished on the back of a sexual assault lawsuit, McManus gets relief from Florida judges.

Brandon McManus cleared of sexual assault charges

Former Jaguars kicker McManus found himself being charged with a sexual assault lawsuit by two flight attendants during his time in Jacksonville. Based upon the reports submitted, McManus allegedly tried to kiss one of the flight attendants while they tried to serve food. Even the other women had the same complaint regarding McManus’s uncalled behaviours. On the back of this ongoing lawsuit, the Commanders decided to release the kicker as they tweeted, “We have released K Brandon McManus.”

However, the 33-year-old kicker was cleared of those charges by Florida judge Michael S. Sharrit, who claimed, “Fairness requires Plaintiffs be prepared to stand behind their chargers publicly in the same way Defendant McManus must openly refute them.” Those two women used the pseudonyms “Jane Doe I” and “Jane Doe II” in their lawsuit. With that statement, McManus attorney Brett Gallaway stated, “We look forward to him returning to the NFL playing field as soon as possible.”

Now that McManus is cleared of all the charges, it would be time for him to sign for a new franchise. But which team among the 32 in the NFL would be interested in signing? We can’t wait to find out as McManus awaits his next chapter in the NFL.