GREEN BAY, Wis. – In the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, where legends are forged and heartbreaks are as common as cheese curds, the Green Bay Packers are staring down a crisis that’s equal parts foot and fury. Their kicking game, once a punchline for having too many options, has devolved into a nightmare of shanks, misses, and mounting desperation. And now, whispers from the shadows of the Packers’ front office suggest they’re willing to court one of the NFL’s most toxic free agents: Justin Tucker, the disgraced former Baltimore Ravens All-Pro kicker suspended for 10 games amid a harrowing sexual misconduct scandal.
It’s no joke in Green Bay. With the Packers clinging to playoff hopes in a brutal NFC North race – sitting at 6-4 after a gut-wrenching 10-7 Monday night loss to the Philadelphia Eagles – the pressure on special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia is reaching boiling point. Veteran Brandon McManus, signed to a lucrative extension just months ago to steady the ship, has been anything but reliable since returning from a quad injury. His recent ledger reads like a horror novel: a 44-yard miss against Pittsburgh, a crushing 57-yarder that sailed wide in the same game, a 43-yard shank in a three-point defeat to Carolina, and Monday’s infamous 64-yard “attempt” against the Eagles – a worm-burner that wouldn’t have cleared the pants of a kindergarten pee-wee kicker.
Enter the speculation that’s lighting up sports talk radio from Milwaukee to Manhattan: The Packers are seriously considering inking Tucker to a short-term deal, suspension be damned. Sources close to the organization (who spoke on condition of anonymity because, well, this is radioactive) indicate that GM Brian Gutekunst has already placed a discreet call to Tucker’s camp. A tryout could happen as early as this week, ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium – where McManus has been downgraded to “doubtful” with lingering hamstring tightness.
Justin Tucker Suspended 10 Weeks, Former Ravens Kicker Is Currently NFL Free Agent
For the uninitiated, Tucker’s fall from grace was as swift as one of his patented 60-yard bombs used to be. The five-time All-Pro, a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame with his record 89.1% career field goal accuracy and iconic game-winners (remember that 61-yarder to stun the Lions in 2015?), was unceremoniously cut by the Ravens in the summer of 2025. The catalyst? A bombshell investigation by The Baltimore Banner that detailed allegations of sexual misconduct from 16 massage therapists in the Baltimore area. The women described a pattern of predatory behavior during “recovery sessions,” including unwanted advances, coercion, and assaults spanning several seasons. The NFL, in a rare swift move, slapped Tucker with a 10-game suspension for personal conduct violations – his eligibility won’t fully return until Week 12 of the 2026 season.
The outcry was immediate and deafening. Teammates distanced themselves, Ravens fans burned jerseys outside M&T Bank Stadium, and women’s advocacy groups like the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund called for a league-wide reckoning on athlete accountability. Tucker, 36 and now a pariah, issued a terse apology via Instagram, denying some claims but admitting to “poor judgment” in others. “I take full responsibility and am committed to making amends,” he posted, alongside a photo of himself at a therapy session. But in the court of public opinion, the damage was done.
So why, in the name of Vince Lombardi’s ghost, would the Packers – a franchise built on Midwestern wholesomeness and Jordan Love’s boy-next-door charm – even entertain this? Desperation, pure and simple. Backup kicker Lucas Havrisik, a 26-year-old undrafted gem from Florida, has been lights-out in limited action: 4-for-4 on field goals, including a franchise-record 61-yarder in a 2024 thriller against the Cardinals, and 6-for-6 on extra points. But with McManus’s contract chewing up cap space and the Packers’ +3 point differential in close games this season, coach Matt LaFleur can’t afford another collapse. “Kicking wins championships,” LaFleur growled post-Eagles, his face a mask of barely contained rage. “We’ve got to get this right, period.”
CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones fanned the flames earlier this week, reporting that Green Bay’s kicking room – one of the league’s few two-kicker setups – is on the verge of implosion. “If the Packers are uncomfortable with their options, it might be worth giving Tucker a call,” Jones wrote. “This is a Super Bowl-contending team. They need a kicker they can trust. Yes, they just extended McManus, but talent like Tucker’s doesn’t grow on trees – even tainted ones.”
The NFL community is already in meltdown mode. On The Pat McAfee Show Tuesday, the host didn’t hold back: “This ain’t the old days, Green Bay. You can’t just sign a guy accused of harassing 16 women and act like it’s business as usual. But damn if Tucker wouldn’t solve half their problems overnight.” Ravens legend Ray Lewis, never one to mince words, tweeted: “Packers better think long and hard. Football’s family, but some stains don’t wash out. #RavenNation.” Meanwhile, Packers beat writers are fielding furious calls from season-ticket holders, and the team’s PR machine is in overdrive, issuing a boilerplate “we’re evaluating all options” statement that fools no one.
Critics point to precedent: The NFL has a checkered history of forgiving star power over scandal. Think Ray Rice’s brief comeback attempt, or even Deshaun Watson’s Browns tenure amid 24 civil suits. “Icky personal behavior gets overlooked when there’s talent involved,” one anonymous AFC personnel exec told me. “Tucker’s a surgeon with a football. If he nails a 55-yarder to beat the Lions in January, half the fanbase will forget the headlines by February.”
But not everyone in Titletown is on board. Havrisik, the feel-good story of camp, has earned the locker room’s respect with his poise and that record-breaking boot. Signing Tucker would relegate him to the practice squad – or worse, the waiver wire – and invite a PR apocalypse. Packers president Mark Murphy, known for his measured approach (he nixed a 2023 pursuit of a troubled cornerback for similar reasons), is reportedly “furious” at the leak, per insiders. And with the #MeToo movement still echoing through league halls, the backlash could be seismic: Boycotts from sponsors like Johnsonville Sausage? Protests at the team store? It’s a risk even Aaron Rodgers in his prime might balk at.
As for Tucker? He’s been training in obscurity at a facility outside Dallas, posting workout clips on a low-follower TikTok account. “Ready to contribute wherever I can,” he captioned one video last week, kicking a 68-yarder into a net with the ease of a man who’d rather forget his past. Agents say interest from desperate teams – the Giants, Bears, and even the winless Panthers – has been tepid, scared off by the optics. Green Bay, though? They’re the perfect storm: Needy, talented, and just contrarian enough to pull the trigger.
Will it happen? The bet here is 60-40 against – Gutekunst’s too savvy for a full-blown revolt, and Havrisik’s audition against the Giants could seal his promotion. But in a league where a missed kick can end dreams and a scandal can be spun as “redemption,” nothing’s off the table. The Packers face the Giants on Sunday, where a win keeps their NFC seed alive and a loss buries them. If McManus sits and Havrisik wobbles, that phone to Tucker’s camp might ring louder than a Lambeau Leap.
One thing’s certain: No matter the outcome, this saga has the NFL buzzing. In Green Bay, where Packers Nation preaches “loyalty over everything,” the ultimate test isn’t on the field – it’s in the mirror. Can they kick away their principles for a prayer of a field goal?