The Broncos apparently will have a new kicker. Brandon McManus is posting on social media that he’s being released. But I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him.

McManus is being chopped in part (I think) because he’s attempted more long kicks than anyone else in the league. Those kicks are harder to make, of course, so it makes McManus’ overall body of work look less impressive than it actually is. The extra 50-yard misses make it appear as if McManus isn’t reliable in general (which isn’t true).

McManus has attempted 51 field goals from 50-plus over the last five years, 14 more than anyone else. He’s made only 29 of those, for a success rate of 57 percent. (In today’s game, 57 percent from 50-plus is below average, so factor that into your McManus decision making – while he’s attempted a lot of long kicks, he’s nothing special in that regard).

But look at McManus on field goals inside 50 yards. He’s hit 91 percent. That ranks 4th among active kickers. In the 32-team era, 65 kickers have attempted at least 100 such field goals, and only four have been more accurate than Manus. (In the chart below, I’ve got the players ordered by their accuracy on the field goals under 50 yards.)

So I would figure that teams that are looking for kickers (the Cowboys, for example, and perhaps the Rams and Packers later) would put McManus on their list of possibilities.

As for the Broncos, there are plenty of other veterans out there looking for kicking jobs, including Robbie Gould, Rodrigo Blankenship, Randy Bullock, Ryan Succop and Mason Crosby. Crosby played his college ball at nearby Colorado, but isn’t from there (he’s originally from Texas).

FIELD GOALS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE 50 YARDS
Player< 50 YdPct50+ YdPct
Justin Tucker306-32195.3%57-8071.3%
Harrison Butker141-15193.4%23-3565.7%
Younghoe Koo102-11291.1%20-2580.0%
Brandon McManus183-20290.6%40-7255.6%
Josh Lambo112-12490.3%16-2369.6%
Jason Myers166-18490.2%29-4367.4%
Dustin Hopkins175-19490.2%15-3050.0%
John Kasay209-23290.1%21-4348.8%
Dan Bailey216-24090.0%33-5066.0%
Greg Zuerlein250-27889.9%44-8055.0%
Kai Forbath121-13589.6%12-1963.2%
Daniel Carlson119-13389.5%24-2982.8%
Shayne Graham254-28489.4%17-3253.1%
Neil Rackers210-23589.4%25-4654.3%
Ka'imi Fairbairn124-13989.2%24-3470.6%
Wil Lutz148-16689.2%17-2958.6%
Cairo Santos171-19289.1%14-2751.9%
Stephen Hauschka236-26589.1%28-4562.2%
Matt Bryant354-39888.9%40-6264.5%
Jason Hanson225-25388.9%31-4766.0%
Matt Stover200-22588.9%4-1040.0%
Joe Nedney143-16188.8%12-2060.0%
Jake Elliott119-13488.8%19-2965.5%
Nate Kaeding171-19388.6%10-1758.8%
Dan Carpenter212-24088.3%24-4158.5%
Robbie Gould411-46688.2%36-5170.6%
Adam Vinatieri401-45588.1%38-6162.3%
Graham Gano273-31088.1%40-6066.7%
Jason Sanders110-12588.0%16-2759.3%
Rob Bironas215-24587.8%24-3470.6%
Ryan Succop297-33987.6%23-4748.9%
Shaun Suisham205-23487.6%6-1735.3%
Stephen Gostkowski360-41187.6%32-4374.4%
Sebastian Janikowski335-38387.5%56-9956.6%
Chris Boswell178-20487.3%24-3080.0%
Michael Badgley89-10287.3%5-1338.5%
Randy Bullock197-22687.2%14-2751.9%
Josh Brown282-32586.8%37-5567.3%
Connor Barth150-17386.7%18-3060.0%
Ryan Longwell212-24586.5%18-2766.7%
Chandler Catanzaro109-12686.5%10-1662.5%
Mason Crosby352-40786.5%43-7855.1%
Nick Novak165-19186.4%17-3154.8%
Morten Andersen100-11686.2%1-333.3%
Phil Dawson355-41286.2%42-6070.0%
Rian Lindell254-29586.1%17-3351.5%
Nick Folk293-34285.7%34-5364.2%
Caleb Sturgis107-12585.6%13-2552.0%
Matt Prater302-35385.6%71-9574.7%
Blair Walsh130-15285.5%24-3568.6%
Jason Elam187-21985.4%14-2458.3%
Mike Vanderjagt111-13085.4%5-683.3%
Jay Feely287-33785.2%16-2857.1%
John Carney183-21585.1%5-955.6%
Cody Parkey113-13385.0%8-1080.0%
Mike Nugent252-29784.8%13-3043.3%
Jeff Reed205-24284.7%8-1747.1%
Lawrence Tynes179-21284.4%11-2152.4%
David Akers305-36284.3%23-4353.5%
Jeff Wilkins142-16984.0%18-2281.8%
Olindo Mare205-24583.7%15-3345.5%
Josh Scobee215-25983.0%26-4261.9%
Billy Cundiff174-21182.5%8-2828.6%
Kris Brown162-19981.4%14-2948.3%
Paul Edinger74-10074.0%14-2263.6%

—Ian Allan