Viva La Italia!
A shaky season from kicker Mason Crosby has led to the Green Bay Packers bringing in some offseason competition.
According to Matteo Gandini of Sportitalia, former University of California kicker Giorgio Tavecchio has signed with the Packers. The move was also confirmed by John Breech of CBSSports.com.
Tavecchio went to training camp with the San Francisco 49ers last season before being let go in favor of veteran David Akers during final cuts.
Crosby converted just 21 of 33 field goal attempts (63.6-percent) for the Packers last season. In his first five seasons in the league, Crosby had never converted at less than a 75-percent rate. Tavecchio converted 48 of 64 field goal attempts (75-percent) during his four-year career at California.
Crosby has not had to face competition in training camp since his rookie season. Crosby won the job over incumbent Dave Rayner after being drafted in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL draft. Crosby has converted 152 of 198 attempts (76.8-percent) and missed just two extra points in six seasons with the Packers.