Mason Crosby will hang up his spikes, according to a post from the Green Bay Packers. If there is one ultimate truth of the NFL, it’s that a reliable kicker is worth his weight in gold, and for 16 seasons, Mason Crosby was 24-carat. Crosby was a sixth-round pick out of Colorado in the 2007 draft (193rd overall), and the third of three Packer picks in a row (Korey Hall at 191, and Desmond Bishop at 192).
While Crosby was rarely one of the league leaders in field goal percentage, he exceeded 85% on seven occasions, and made all 16 of his field goal attempts in the 2020 season. He actually got off to a bit of a slow start for Green Bay, failing to eclipse 80% in any of his first four seasons, and struggling to the point that he was almost cut in a terrible 2012 campaign where he his only 63.6% of his kicks, but for the Packers and Crosby, patience paid off. After 2012 he made at least 80% of his kicks in eight of his final eleven seasons, peaking with two of his best seasons in 2019 (91.7%) and 2020 (100%). Crosby also converted 97.2% of his career PAT tries, with six perfect seasons under his belt.
All of that said, field goal percentage will always understate Crosby’s greatness, as kicking in Green Bay, and in the NFC North means kicking in one of the most difficult environments in the league. Lambeau is a treacherous place to kick in its own right, but Crosby also had to make annual trips to Soldier Field, and due to the frigid late fall/winter months, kicking outdoors in the North is far more difficult than kicking outdoors just about anywhere else. For his career, Crosby averaged a robust 84.8% in domes, or about 5% better than when kicking outdoors, and in a different location, his raw numbers would have been quite a bit better. In the warm September weather, Crosby made 91.4% of his field goals.
While Crosby was a rock in the regular season, he became a star for the franchise in the playoffs where, despite kicking in December and January, he ranks seventh among all kickers with over 20 playoff attempts at 88.6%, and again, that number understates his greatness. From inside of 50, Crosby was 29/31 in the playoffs, and of his two short misses, one was a blocked field goal against San Francisco in the 2021 playoffs that was entirely the fault of the offensive line. Crosby was 2-4 from 50+, but of his two misses from beyond 50, one was an insanely long 54-yarder against the Cardinals in the 2009 playoffs. With some slightly better luck, Crosby likely jumps to the fourth most accurate kicker in playoff history behind Robbie Gould, Jake Elliott, and Stephen Hauschka.
Mason Crosby played in more games for the franchise than Brett Favre, (and indeed, played in more consecutive games for the Packers, with 258), and only Aaron Rodgers has played more seasons for the franchise. He retires with the franchise lead in points, field goals, and PATs. And while raw power was never Crosby’s greatest strength, he owns the eight longest field goals in franchise history, topping out at 58 yards.
Crosby will be remembered as one of the best and most beloved players in franchise history.