Mason Crosby has not missed a single game during his 15 years with the Green Bay Packers.
That Iron Man streak faced a significant challenge following offseason knee surgery, but the veteran kicker looks poised to start the 2022 season in his familiar role.
According to The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman, the Packers are activating Crosby from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. He’s expected to play his 242nd consecutive game when Green Bay opens against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1.
Having missed all of training camp, Crosby’s status to start the season remained uncertain all summer. The Packers signed Ramiz Ahmed as an insurance policy two weeks ago, but they released the former USFL kicker when finalizing their 53-man roster Tuesday.
Green Bay hasn’t had to give much thought to the position since taking Crosby in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He’s since converted 370 of 456 field goals and 97.5 percent of his extra points. Crosby is also perfect on 70 point-after tries while draining 31 of 35 field-goal attempts in the playoffs.
However, Crosby missed nine field-goal opportunities last year, finishing with the worst success rate (73.5 percent) of his career. While all of those misses occurred between Weeks 5 and 12, he also had a 39-yarder blocked during Green Bay’s 13-10 playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Even a kicker with his distinguished track record isn’t guaranteed job security. Crosby will need to prove healthy and effective to stick around long enough to break Brett Favre’s franchise record of 255 straight games played.