In what was simultaneously a $1 million surprise and no surprise at all, the Green Bay Packers released kicker Brandon McManus on Friday. The news, first reported by ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter , helps clear the path for rookie Trey Smack to be the team’s kicker in 2026. What had been a three-man kicking competition is down to two, with Lucas Havrisik on the roster to challenge Smack. “It’s you versus you,” Smack said at the rookie camp about the specter of a three-man kicking duel. “I don’t really pay attention to anybody else but myself because I’m the one that’s got to put it through the uprights.” Financial Implications Are Real Coming off an injury-plagued season and an abysmal playoff performance at Chicago, the Packers elected to pay McManus his $1 million roster bonus at the start of the league-year. That wound up being a $1 million insurance policy in case the Packers didn’t make a big addition at the position. That addition was Smack.…