Packers sign rookie kicker JJ Molson to practice squad

Nothing is wrong with Mason Crosby. Let’s get that out of the way first. The Green Bay Packers’ kicker is 16-for-16 on field goals this season and has no injury issues to speak of.

With that said, the Packers are ensuring that they are set up for success should anything happen to Crosby during the bizarre 2020 season. To that end, the team has signed a rookie kicker, JJ Molson, to the practice squad, announcing the signing on Tuesday afternoon. They released center Anthony Fabiano to make room for Molson that unit.

Molson kicked for the UCLA Bruins in college, where he was a teammate of fellow Packers rookie Krys Barnes. A native of Montreal, Quebec, Molson’s finest season came as a sophomore, when he made 17 of 21 field goal attempts (a hit rate of 81 percent) and 49 of his 50 extra points. In four years as the Bruins’ primary place-kicker, he went 51-for-74 overall on field goals and 151-for-152 on PATs.

Again, this appears to be purely an insurance move to ensure that the team has an in-house backup option should anything happen to Crosby in the coming weeks. Without a backup kicker on the roster, the Packers would face a difficult time bringing someone in should Crosby miss any time. This also will allow the Packers to keep him on the roster and potentially offer him a futures contract to spend the 2021 offseason with the team, should he remain with the Packers through the end of their 2020 season.