Packers “feel good” with new kicker Brandon McManus, calling sexual assault lawsuit “settled.”

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The Packers are “very, very comfortable” with signing veteran kicker Brandon McManus despite allegations of sexual assault, general manager Brian Gutekunst said Wednesday.

According to the Associated Press, Daisy Torres and Nicole Anderson have sued McManus for allegedly trying to kiss one of them and fighting both of them while the women were working as flight attendants on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ flight to London in September 2023. Torres and Anderson made their lawsuit names public after initially filing their lawsuit anonymously because a judge ruled the case did not meet the criteria required for anonymity, according to the AP.

According to the AP, the women are seeking more than $1 million in damages. It also included details from the lawsuit alleging McManus got drunk before sexually assaulting the two women and handed out $100 bills to encourage them to drink inappropriately and dance.

The NFL conducted an investigation and found insufficient evidence that McManus had violated the league’s personal conduct policy. The league also said the NFL may consider addressing new information if new information emerges.

McManus said in the Packers’ locker room on Wednesday that the civil lawsuit against him was “settled.” When asked if the issue had been dropped or resolved, McManus again said it was “resolved.” In a statement about this The athleteMcManus’ lawyer, Brett Gallaway, said: “The case has been resolved. I look forward to seeing Brandon play for the Packers on Sunday.”

“I have always been open and honest,” McManus said, adding he could not comment on the investigation. “So I was able to get through it all to some extent.”

The attorney who represented Torres and Anderson, Tony Buzbee, told ESPN in a story published Sept. 30 that he was still working to arrange a meeting between the league and the two women and was confused as to why the NFL would complete their investigation without speaking to the women.

A league source said this The athlete On Wednesday, the NFL said it had contacted representatives for the accusers several times to request a meeting with the women but had never received a response.

Asked via email Wednesday whether the NFL has attempted to speak to prosecutors as part of its investigation and about the case as a whole, Buzbee responded: “The plaintiffs and the Jaguars have resolved this matter.” The conditions are confidential.”

Miami-based attorney Brandon Chase is listed in online court documents as an attorney for both women and did not immediately respond to a telephone message on his behalf Wednesday.

Online court records in Florida showed McManus’ attorney will take testimony from Anderson, one of the flight attendants, Friday morning in Jacksonville. The same is planned for next Tuesday with Torres, the other flight attendant. The court document states: “The deposition shall be taken for the purpose of disclosure and use at trial or hearing or for such other purposes as may be permitted by applicable rules and law and shall continue from day to day until.” it is completed.” ”

Gutekunst said the Packers have gone over the details of the investigation with the league and are “very pleased with their investigation and what they’ve done with it to make us feel comfortable at this point.”

“I had a really good conversation with Brandon last night,” Gutekunst said. “As those things were sorted out within the league and he put some other things behind him, the conversations (with agent Drew Rosenhaus) just took off. 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 have him out there.”

On the field, the Packers felt the need to make a kicker change after undrafted rookie Brayden Narveson made 12 of 17 field goals in the first six games, including a miss from 44 yards during a 2-for-3 day last year Sunday against the Cardinals. All five of Narveson’s missed shots this season – he made all 16 of his extra point attempts – either went wide right or hit the right post. Narveson, whom the Packers claimed off waivers from the Titans this summer after releasing Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph, ranks 35th in the NFL in field goal percentage (70.6 percent).

McManus, 33, played for the Broncos from 2014 to 2022 and for the Jaguars in 2023. The Washington Commanders fired him this offseason after the allegations became public. McManus is a career field goal kicker with an 81.4 percent shooting percentage. In the last three seasons he shot 26:31 (83.9 percent), 28:36 (77.8) and 30:37 (81.1).

In those three years, he was 29 of 31 on shots between 40 and 49 yards and 18 of 32 on shots from at least 50 yards. Narveson did not attempt 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 found himself in very high-pressure situations and performed in an outdoor stadium in bad weather for a long time. He just has a lot of experience, is very talented, very gifted and has a very strong leg. He was on fire and went through the ups and downs that all kickers go through and was able to come out on the other side.”

(Photo: Perry Knotts/Getty Images)