Green Bay's head coach, Matt LaFleur, didn’t fan the flames of a kicking controversy. After hinting midweek that “every spot is a competition,” the Packers head coach reaffirmed that Brandon McManus remains Green Bay’s kicker, while Lucas Havrisik stays in the on-call role.
LaFleur’s message was to just ride the veteran, evaluate health, and pick the option that gives Green Bay the best chance to win in tight games.
With this, Adam Schefter reported two late roster calls for Sunday at the Giants: McManus was added to the injury report with a right quad issue and is doubtful, and wide receiver Malik Heath will not travel and is out due to what the team termed a coaching decision. That combination forces contingency planning on special teams and trims a depth option in the receiver room just before kickoff.
Practically, the quad concern narrows Green Bay’s fourth-down calculus and long-range field-goal appetite, particularly in fringe territory. If McManus can’t go, the staff will pivot to the next-man-up plan and emphasize red-zone efficiency over 50-plus attempts.
Field position, kickoffs, and end-of-half management all tighten under a doubtful designation, so expect the Packers to lean into clock control and short-yardage aggression to avoid coin-flip kicks.
Heath’s scratch reshuffles the back end of the rotation and special-teams roles. Targets will condense toward the primary pass-catchers, with auxiliary snaps going to packages that stress spacing and motion rather than wholesale personnel changes on a short week. The goal is clean operation for Jordan Love, not volume heroics.
LaFleur struck an upbeat tone ahead of this trip, insisting confidence flows from the week’s work and mindset, and that the group has handled both. The message after the Eagles' loss was about response, not resignation: stack good practices, then cash them in between the lines.
And the bottom line for Sunday is: tidy situational football. If Green Bay protects the ball, finishes drives without asking a compromised kicker to win it, and keeps the game on Love’s timing instead of desperation, the matchup at MetLife is built to steady the season.
