Packers 'cozy' with new kicker Brandon McManus, who says sexual assault lawsuit 'settled'

Green Bay, Wis. — The Packers are “very, very comfortable” with signing veteran kicker Brandon McManus despite sexual assault allegations against him, general manager Brian Gutekunst said Wednesday.

According to the Associated Press, Daisy Torres and Nicole Anderson sued McManus for allegedly trying to kiss one of them and groping both of them while working as flight attendants on a Jacksonville Jaguars flight to London in September 2023. Torres and Anderson have been named after they initially filed their lawsuit anonymously because a judge ruled the lawsuit did not meet the criteria required for anonymity, according to the AP.

The women sought more than $1 million in damages, according to the AP, which also included details of the lawsuit alleging that McManus got drunk before sexually assaulting the two women and passed $100 bills to encourage them to drink and dance inappropriately.

The NFL conducted an investigation and found insufficient evidence that McManus violated the league's personal conduct policy. The league also said the NFL could look into it if new information presents itself.

McManus said in the Packers locker room Wednesday that the civil suit involving him “has been settled.” When asked if it had been dropped or settled, McManus again said it was “settled.” in a statement athleticMcManus' attorney, Brett Gallaway, said, “The case has been resolved. I look forward to watching Brandon play for the Packers on Sunday.”

“I've always been upfront and honest about it,” McManus said, adding that he could not talk about the investigation. “That's how I was able to get through all of this.”

The attorney representing Torres and Anderson, Tony Buzby, told ESPN in a story published Sept. 30 that he was still working to schedule a meeting between the league and the two women and was confused as to why the NFL would end the investigation without talking to them. woman

A source of the league said this information athletic On Wednesday the NFL reached out multiple times to representatives of the accused to request a meeting with the women but never heard back.

When asked by email Wednesday whether the NFL has attempted to speak with the accusers as part of its investigation and about the case as a whole, Buzbee replied, “The plaintiffs and the Jaguars have resolved this matter. Terms are confidential.”

Miami-based attorney Brandon Chase is now listed in online court documents as the attorney for both women and did not immediately respond to a message left for him by phone Wednesday.

Online court records in Florida show that McManus' attorney will take Anderson's deposition as one of the flight attendants in Jacksonville on Friday morning. The same thing happened to another flight attendant, Torres, next Tuesday. Court documents state that “depositions are being taken, for discovery purposes, and for use at trial or hearing, or for other purposes permitted under applicable statutes and governing laws, and will continue daily until completed.”

Gutekunst said the Packers have gone over the details of the investigation with the league and “feel very good about their investigation and what they got out of it to make us comfortable at this point.”

“I had a great conversation with Brandon last night,” Gutekunst said. “When those things were cleared up within the league and he went over some other things, those conversations came right up (with agent Drew Rosenhus). We wanted to make sure we did our due diligence. Again, we feel really good about where we're sitting right now. We're excited to get him out there.”

On the field, the Packers felt the need to replace a kicker after undrafted rookie Brayden Narveson went 12-of-17 on field goals through the first six games, including a 44-yard miss on a 2-of-3 day last Sunday. against the Cardinals. All five of Narveson's misses this season — he's made all 16 of his extra-point attempts — hit either wide to the right or straight to the right. Narveson, who was claimed off waivers by the Titans after the Packers released Anders Karlsson and Greg Joseph this summer, ranks 35th in the NFL in field-goal percentage (70.6 percent).

McManus, 33, played for the Broncos from 2014-2022 and the Jaguars in 2023. The Washington Commanders released him this offseason after the allegations became public McManus is a career 81.4-percent field-goal kicker. Over the past three seasons, he's 26-for-31 (83.9 percent), 28-for-36 (77.8) and 30-for-37 (81.1).

In those three years, he was 29-of-31 from 40-49 yards and 18-32 from at least 50 yards. Narveson never attempted a field goal of at least 50 yards with the Packers. McManus is 93-of-96 on extra points since the start of the 2021 season.

“Obviously, a very experienced kicker,” Gutekunst said of McManus. “He's been in very high-pressure situations and the weather, kicking for a long time in an outdoor stadium. So he has a lot of experience, very talented, very gifted, very strong legs. He was on fire and had the ups and downs that all kickers have been able to overcome and come out the other side of.”

(Photo: Perry Knotts/Getty Images)