The Green Bay Packers will be in the market for a kicker after Alex Hale was released off the non-football injury list July 21.
Veteran Brandon McManus will be the team’s starting kicker, but Hale was a promising developmental player the Packers kept on their practice squad as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. Hale, who grew up in Gosford, New South Wales, Australia, was signed as the team’s international player during training camp last year and was expected to fill the same spot this year.
However, Hale landed on the non-football injury list after suffering an eye injury that will sideline him several weeks, a source said. Hale was struck in the eye with a football in a freak accident while working out.
The Packers will need another kicker in camp because they don’t want McManus to wear his leg out. As a result, they released Hale and are expected to sign another kicker before practice starts July 23.
There is a possibility Hale will rejoin the team when he is healthy, but the Packers would probably have to keep the international spot open and still want a kicker for that to happen. If the kicker they sign ends up performing well, they probably wouldn’t need to bring back Hale.
Hale connected on 13 of 20 kicking attempts during training camp. He hit 9 of his first 10 before suffering a slide. However, four of his misses were from 49 yards and beyond.
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Packers release kicker Alex Hale after freak injury sidelines him for start of training camp
Reporting by Tom Silverstein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Packers News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
