GREEN BAY, Wis. — Alex Hale isn’t good enough to start as the Green Bay Packers’ kicker this season. But he’s good enough to develop and possibly become their kicker.
The Packers named the Australian native their International Player Pathway player on Wednesday and released defensive end Kenneth Odumegwu, who held that designation.
Once roster cuts are completed on August 27, the Packers can sign Hale to the practice squad. They will receive a roster exemption, meaning he will not count against the 16-player limit.
Hale was signed after a tryout and made his training camp debut on August 7. He had four opportunities to kick during training camp and made 13 of 20 hits. Although he has a strong leg, Hale has to keep it in check. His longest field goal was 46 yards; the seven missed kicks were between 46 and 56 yards.
He did not play in the two preparation games.
“It definitely gives you confidence and the certainty that some people are interested in the way you perform,” Hale said after his first training“I’m sure I have a lot more ahead of me than what happens in the next few weeks. So, yeah, I’ll just take it as it comes and try to do my best.”
Hale came to the USA after graduating from high school. He wanted to go to college and play sports. An NFL career was not yet an option at that time.
“It was a pretty far-reaching goal,” Hale said. “I didn’t think it was possible. But with a little more training and slowly progressing through college, it became a little more realistic. So I just kept pursuing it.”
Much of the training was conducted by NFL kicking legend John Carney.
“A few years ago,” Carney told Packers On SI, “his parents dropped him off at our gym and said, ‘Hey, we’re from Australia. His big brother played football for San Diego State. And he likes to play football, so let’s just drop him off here and see what happens.'”
Hale showed a lot of natural talent and eventually played at the college level for Oklahoma State.
“A lot of Australians prefer punting to kicking, but Alex played a lot of football and he enjoyed kicking more than punting,” Carney said. “But he’s just a hard-working, disciplined, athletic kid.”
“He was a professional wakeskater. That excited me because he’s not new to competitive sport, he’s not new to preparation, he’s not new to competition nerves and getting up for a big event. So he had that built in.”
After making 27 of 34 field goals and 36 of 38 extra points in 2023, Hale was neither drafted nor signed this year. However, Hale refused to give up and continued to work with Carney.
Carney hosted a preseason kicking combine for specialists. Several teams participated, and Hale impressed the Packers enough to allow him to participate in the August tryout.
“He went out there and hit a bunch of balls like he was in practice every day. Nothing seems to faze him,” Carney said.
The other side of the coin was the release of Nigerian-born Odumegwu, who became incredibly popular during his more than a year with the team. His first game in organized football came in the preseason last year against Cincinnati.
“Yeah, man, Kenneth has a cool, unique story,” Rashan Gary said during training camp. “Every time I see him progress and jump, it’s unbelievable. He’s a second-year player in the NFL now. He skipped high school, he skipped middle school, college. He’s at the highest level he can be. So when he’s out there making plays and we celebrate him, it just shows that he’s doing his thing.”
During a practice early in camp, Odumegwu was sacked and stripped. Gary was probably the most excited player on the field.
“To be honest, it was just incredible,” Odumegwu told Packers.com after last season. “It’s more than I expected. I’ve really made great progress and integrated myself into the team. I’m getting to know my teammates better and they trust me. I’m getting to know football and living in Green Bay. It’s a great experience.”
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— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) 21 August 2024
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