Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has vowed to operate with more patience in regard to specialists, so it should come as no surprise that he wants to have a Ted Thompson-like level of patience with sixth-round pick Trey Smack as the rookie navigates the ups and downs of life in the NFL as a first-year kicker.
There is hope that Smack can be Gutekunst's version of Mason Crosby, providing a kicker for the long haul in Green Bay.
"We’ll see. No, we have a lot of faith in him, that he’s going to be able to self-correct, and whatever he goes through he’ll be able to get to the other side of it. I mentioned a number of times how impressed I was with Ted Thompson and the patience he had with Mason (Crosby)," Gutekunst told Pete Dougherty
of PackersNews.com. "Mason went through some serious struggles while he was here where I think the building and the team might have been ready to do something different, and [Thompson] held firm that Mason had it in him to overcome those adverse moments. So we’ll see. But I’d like to think we can do that with him if that comes up."
Crosby, who is now the franchise's leader in field goals and points, didn't make 80 percent of his field goals in a season until his fourth season, and the Packers weathered the storm several times as his performance dipped, including the 2012 season when he made only 63.5 percent of field goals and again in 2018 when he struggled mightily to start the season. Thompson never wavered, even under pressure to make a change.
Having that level of patience would be difficult for any decision-maker in today's NFL, especially as field goal kicking has become a bigger part of the game with increased range and more difficult extra points. But Gutekunst sounds prepared to work through any upcoming troubles in the kicking game. He traded up in the sixth round to get Smack, who the Packers believed was the best kicker in the draft and the best player left on the board at that point in the draft.
It's very early, but Smack just finished a perfect preseason, featuring three makes on field goals over 50 yards, and Gutekunst is feeling no buyer's remorse about the decision to move up and get him.
"Sitting here right now, I'm glad I did," Gutekunst said.
This all isn't to say that Smack has a stack of "Get out of Jail Free" cards. He's a pro player in the NFL. He has to consistently perform his job -- making kicks and scoring points -- or the Packers will have to move in a different direction. There can be pressure and patience.
There's also the risk of having an inconsistent rookie kicker on a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
"Every kicker you have is a bit of a risk, right? That’s just the way the National Football League is. But we feel really good about Trey," Gutekunst said. "He’s had a great training camp. He’s going to go through things like young kickers do in this league learning to kick in the different stadiums, outdoors and indoors. We’d like to think we have one for the long haul, but we’ll see. He’s got to go out there and do it. But everything he’s shown us since he’s been here is positive, and we're excited about him."
Trey Smack has big tests awaiting him in the regular season. But so does Brian Gutekunst. In 2024, Brayden Narveson lasted only six games before Gutekunst replaced him with Brandon McManus. Now he has a rookie kicker who has flashed brilliant talent, and the Packers believe he has the right makeup mentally. Will Gutekunst have the patience to weather the storms that are coming?
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers hoping to have Ted Thompson-like patience with kicker Trey Smack
