Broncos Linked to Veteran Kicker by NFL Insider
After some ugly shenanigans in preseason Game 1, Denver Broncos kicker Brett Maher had a much more encouraging outing on Saturday night vs. the San Francisco 49ers. Maher went 2-for-2 on his field goal attempts (48, 34 yards), and connected on both extra-point tries.
Perhaps it was just a case of a beleaguered kicker battling the mental grind of a lasting slump, finally breaking through and knocking all the cobwebs out. Or it may have been partly motivated by the Broncos waiving Maher's primary competition throughout training camp — Elliott Fry — following the first preseason game.
Whatever the explanation, Maher was exactly what you hope to see from a kicker: seen, not heard. And answering the bell when his number gets called.
However, that doesn't preclude the Broncos from seeking an upgrade, especially based on what we know of head coach Sean Payton and some of his kicker maneuvers over the years in New Orleans, many of which were made on the doorstep of the regular season. The Saints have been hosting a kicker competition this summer, and the loser could get traded.
NBC Sports' Peter King linked one such kicker to the Broncos in his Monday morning column.
GM Mickey Loomis may be able to trade the loser of Wil Lutz/Blake Grupe (free agent, Notre Dame) for a sixth-round pick just before roster cutdown. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Sean Payton show interest in Lutz in Denver.
Lutz kicked for Payton from 2016-21. For two of those years, Mike Westhoff was in New Orleans as the special teams coach, Lutz has two ties to the Broncos currently. Payton hired Westhoff to serve as assistant head coach and help watch over special teams with Broncos coordinator Ben Kotwica.
However, there's a reason the Saints brought in competition to push Lutz this year. He connected on just 74.2% of his field-goal attempts last year, though he was a perfect 33-for-33 on extra-point tries. However, it was only a couple of percentage points below that of Brandon McManus, who connected on 77.8% of his field-goal attempts.
Teams never want to see a kicker's field-goal percentage slip below 80%. Last season, the top-16 kickers in the NFL were at an 86% conversion rate or better. The ideal is to kick in the 90th percentile.
Lutz was a far cry from that benchmark last year, but before 2022, his worst season in field-goal percentage was 82.1 in 2020. He missed the 2021 season — Payton's last in New Orleans — due to a core muscle injury.
Many fans bristle at the idea of the Broncos giving up any capital to acquire a kicker via trade, let alone one who didn't even make 80% of his kicks last year. But preseason Game 1, which saw the Broncos' two kickers miss three combined field-goal attempts, drives home the realization of how important stability and consistency at the position can be in the final analysis.
It wouldn't be shocking to see Payton strike a deal with his old pal Loomis to acquire Lutz, assuming he loses the kicker competition in New Orleans. The question of compensation persists, but it's possible the Saints would just release Lutz if they opt to go with Grupe as their kicker.
Stay tuned because it doesn't feel like the Broncos' kicker situation is resolved quite a few months after releasing McManus. And, since arriving as head coach, we've seen how much familiarity means to Payton, based on his coaching hires and personnel acquisitions.
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