Green Bay Packers helmet (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Longtime Green Bay Packers kicker and fan favorite Mason Crosby is hanging up the cleats after a spectacular 17-year career.
Speaking on the latest edition of “The Mason Crosby Show” on 105.7 The Fan in Milwaukee, the 40-year-old and Packers’ all-time scoring leader announced that he is retired from football.
“I think I’ve been putting this off for two years, I’ve been putting it out of my mind. I think this stubbornness is what served me so well in my playing career. So today, I make my official announcement to retire from the NFL.”
The Lubbock, Texas, native was drafted in the sixth round (193rd overall) by the Packers in 2007. The Colorado product helped the Packers to six total NFC Championship Game appearances (2007, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2019 and 2020) and a Super Bowl 45 title in the 2010 season.
Crosby made 81.3 percent of his career field goal attempts and was 739-of-760 on extra points. He holds the record for most consecutive postseason field goals made at 20, a streak that spanned from 2011 to 2015.
The Packers moved on from Mason Crosby after the 2022 season. He appeared in three games for the New York Giants in 2023 but wasn’t re-signed after going 5-of-7 on FG attempts.
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Mason Crosby Was Money For The Packers
Many kickers’ legacies are made or broken by performances in the postseason. Well, Crosby will only be known fondly in Packer land as an all-time clutch kicker, having made 88.6 percent of his career playoff FG attempts.
Perhaps the most memorable kick of Crosby’s career was the game-winning 51-yarder in the 2016 NFC Divisional Round, which saw Green Bay knock off the top-seeded Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
VIDEO: New Bears Head Coach Ben Johnson Took A Vicious Shot At Packers HC Matt Lafleur During His Introductory Press Conference
Ben Johnson and Matt LaFleur (Photos via Twitter and Getty Images)
Well, Ben Johnson certainly wasted no time adding some of his own fuel to the Chicago Bears’ rivalry with the Green Bay Packers.
After three years as the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator under Dan Campbell, Ben Johnson was hired as the Bears’ new head coach. He replaces interim Thomas Brown, who took over the fired Matt Eberflus in November.
In his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Johnson couldn’t help but take a shot at Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur:
“Dan Campbell, Kevin O’Connell, you talk about two guys that are up for Coach of the Year awards as the season ends here. And to be quite frank with you, I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.”
Ben Johnson has a ton of familiarity with LaFleur. The former joined the Lions’ coaching staff under Matt Patricia in 2019, the same year LaFleur was named the new head coach of the Packers.
The Lions completed season-series sweeps of LaFleur’s Packers in 2022 and here in 2024, including a stunning Week 18 victory at Lambeau Field that spoiled Green Bay’s playoff hopes. That game wound up being the last with Aaron Rodgers in a Packer uniform.
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Green Bay has one victory over its last seven meetings with Detroit dating back to Week 18 of the 2021 season. That win came at Ford Field on Thanksgiving, with the Packers winning 29-22.
But Ben Johnson has his work cut out for him now in Windy City as he tries to retain his dominance over Green Bay. LaFleur is 11-1 against the Bears, with the only loss coming in Week 18 on a last-second Cairo Santos field goal.
Ben Johnson Brings New Hope To The Bears
2024 first-overall pick Caleb Williams certainly didn’t disappoint in his rookie year despite being held back by awful coaching. Chicago has plenty of talent on both sides of the ball to compete, now it’s time for Johnson to put it all together.
Chicago has been in coaching purgatory since the mind-numbing decision to fire Lovie Smith after a 10-6 season in 2012. Will Johnson provide stability with Williams as his QB and bring new hope to the Bears? Stay tuned.
