The Washington Commanders have found themselves in a predicament they would rather not be in during what's supposed to be a quiet time in the NFL calendar year. Their new kicker, Brandon McManus, found himself being accused of sexual assault by a pair of flight attendants from an incident stemming on a Jacksonville Jaguars team flight to London for a game in the 2023 campaign.
While this didn't happen on the Commanders watch, their new kicker that they went out and signed in free agency found himself in some hot water, putting his future with the team in serious doubt moving forward. Sure enough, Washington ended up deciding to cut ties with him on Sunday night, meaning they will have to head back to square one when it comes to filling their vacant kicker position.
Commanders need to find new kicker in wake of Brandon McManus release
These are obviously very serious allegations being made about McManus, and the Commanders have to treat them as such. The team initially opted to stand pat and wait for more evidence to come to light, but after some consideration, they opted to move on from McManus amid these disturbing claims.
While it's a decision that makes quite a bit of sense, Washington now finds themselves in need of a new kicker. They initially signed McManus, who had a strong 2023 campaign with the Jaguars, to come in and replace the inconsistent Joey Slye (who ironically ended up signing with the Jaguars in free agency). The hope was that McManus could be an improvement on Slye in 2024, but those plans have quickly been thrown out the window.
The Commanders don't have another kicker on their roster, and with OTAs getting back underway on Monday, it's clear they need to find someone to come in and fill the position. The easiest way to do this is through the free agent market, but the options that are available to them aren't exactly all the appealing, and whoever they end up bringing in is going to be a downgrade from McManus, who has been one of the more consistent options in the league for over a decade now.
Where McManus goes from here remains to be seen, but he's not going to find a new home in the league until this case gets resolved. The two women accusing McManus of this assault want the case to be heard in front of a jury court, which could result in a lengthy process for McManus as he attempts to prove his innocence.
That could take awhile to accomplish, and until it does, chances are he will likely remain on the free agent market. It's a tough situation for all parties involved, but it seemed like only a matter of time until Washington moved on from him, and that ended up being precisely what they did. Now, the search for a new kicker begins, and they will have to bring someone in quickly in order to keep their special teams units on track with where they should be.
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