Green Bay Packers cut kicker JJ Molson
The Green Bay Packers have released former UCLA Bruins kicker JJ Molson. General Manager Brian Gutekunst announced the transaction Friday.
Molson spent the last few weeks of the 2020 season and the entire 2021 season on the Packers’ practice squad as a safety blanket behind longtime Packers’ kicker Mason Crosby, who struggled in multiple key moments last season but found his groove late and performed well enough to keep the starting gig.
Molson was underrated out of UCLA in 2020 and spent time on the Chargers practice squad before signing to the with the Green Bay Packers for the final weeks of the season. He remained on their practice squad last year and signed a futures deal with the team in January. He appeared in one preseason game last year and hit the only extra point he attempted.
Crosby has been the Green Bay Packers kicker since 2007 but is coming off the worst statistical season of his career and was a major factor as the entire team’s special team unit was their clear weak spot on a team many believed had all the pieces in place to win another Lombardi Trophy.
After putting together a stellar season in 2020 where the longtime beloved Packers kicker finished the year with not a single missed field goal which included several from 50 yards or more, Crosby sputtered significantly finishing 2022 connecting on 73.5 percent of his tries, the lowest scoring percentage of his career.
With the Friday move to release Molson, the Packers are left with Crosby and Dominik Eberle as the two options on the required 90-man roster as of now.
Eberle signed with the team in February and is now the only other option to kick in Green Bay but it’s abundantly clear the hiring of the top special teams mind in the NFL in Rich Bisaccia — who was paid according to his worth and reputation — isn’t content strolling into camp with the assumption Crosby is safe. Eberle has limited experience, but Packers fans shouldn’t be surprised if other kickers get a chance in camp.
Will Rich Bisaccia fix the Green Bay Packers woes on special teams?
Just weeks after the Packers were eliminated from playoff contention, the Packers’ made a bold move that felt necessary considering they ranked dead last in special teams last season.
They agreed to terms with former Las Vegas interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein.
The signing was reportedly the largest contract for a special teams coordinator in the NFL. Sources told Silverstein that Bisaccia could make around $2 million in annual salary with the Packers.
The signing is reportedly the largest contract for a special teams coordinator in the NFL. Sources told Silverstein that Bisaccia could make around $2 million in annual salary with the Packers.
Bisaccia began his coaching career back in 1983, and he spent nearly 20 years coaching in the college ranks. He coached at Mississippi (1999-2001), Clemson (1994-98), South Carolina (1988-93) and Wayne State University (1983-87). In 2002, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave him his first major gig in the NFL.
Bisaccia also has extensive experience as an assistant head coach. He was with the Raiders since 2018.
Following the season, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur did not hide his frustrations with Green Bay’s play on special teams. The Packers only had 10 players on the field on the final play of the game in their playoff loss to the 49ers, which came on a walk-off field goal from Robbie Gould.
“I don’t think it’s ever just one thing but certainly that will be a big-time priority I think for us moving forward, is to not allow something like this to happen again,” said LaFleur.
“I’ve just got to make sure that we’re all pushing to find every advantage we can. Players, coaches, everybody involved, to be at their best, to give us the best chance to win because the margin for error in this league is so miniscule. There’s not a lot that separates a lot of these teams, and that was so evident by the games (Sunday), evident in our game. You’ve got to find every advantage you can.”